Batumi Raptor Count

As promised, we will here provide reviews of the products that Swarovski supplied for our count. 

From left to right: Jasper scoping with the ATM 80HD and carrying the EL 10x50; Corintin using the EL 12x50; and Brecht pointing the ATM 60HD. Picture by Johannes Jansen

The first review is one of the Swarovision EL 12x50, reviewed by Arthur Green:

There are not many decent 12X binoculars on the market. Most are bulky in the hand, have a dark image, and have a field of view akin to viewing birds through a pair of toilet paper tubes. But Swarovski's entry is a bit different. Here, we have the ergonomics and sturdy construction that Swarovski's EL line is already renowned for; a bright, sharp image almost right to the edge of the field; and a field of view that competes favourably (at ~100m @ 1 km) with a decent 10X glass. Close focus distance is also superb for a 12X (~3m), and the focus knob moves smoothly and quickly between objects very close and those much more distant. Could this be the first decent 12X for hawkwatching? I feel that it is. In fact, right now, I feel it may be the most viable 12X for general birdwatching, Period.

Even after hours in the field, I experienced no eye fatigue looking through this binocular. I saw no obvious chromatic aberration or “rolling ball” distortion; the view appeared as balanced and flat as you'd expect from a binocular in its class.  However, this glass does exhibit the same green-yellow colour bias common to most Swaroski products. Some people really like this; I don't. Swarovski EL binoculars are known as one of the most eyeglass-friendly binoculars available, and the new 12x50 is no exception. I have deep-set eyes and usually wear eyeglasses, while most of my colleagues have shallower-set eyes and do not wear corrective lenses; we all agreed that eye relief was ample, and that the eyecup design was still among the best of any of the binoculars we've tried. I also fully expected to find the magnification of my hand tremor at 12X to negate the benefit of a higher magnification, but this was not the case, and it was nearly par with a 10X glass. I feel there are only two significant faults to be found with this binocular: At ~1000g, this binocular did not feel all that much lighter than than my venerable Fujinon FMT-SX 10x50, and my biceps attested to this fact at the end of the day. And for a going price of 2400 EUR (2700 USD), this is one of the most expensive birding glasses you can presently buy. But this is unquestionably a solid product, and niggles aside, this is the binocular I'd choose if I joined a raptorwatching tour in some far-flung part of the world (e.g., Georgia) or conducted bird surveys without aid of a telescope. Swarovski's new glass has handily aced the 12X offerings of the other major manufacturers.

Hello everyone,

time flies as the BRC counters are approaching the end of the 2011 BRC edition. As you could read in previous updates the project has been a success. Monitoring went smoothly, not in the least thanks to our great team of coordinators whilst our student groups were highly motivated and interested to learn.

Since the last update from half September both the monitoring and student exchange have maintained this high standard. Counts were held successfully and completely, also during rainy days, as in 2010 when the new BRC protocol was started. These data will allow us to do very important and interesting analysis regarding the effects of weather on local migration dynamics. Important knowledge that will be crucial in the context of long-term monitoring.

As the migration enthusiasts among you will expect, since half September the migration has changed dramatically in species composition. The eagle migration ‘exploded’ after a period of very bad weather on Sept 27th and the two following days when over 2000 Lesser Spotted Eagles accompanied by hundreds of Short-toed Eagles, Booted Eagles and dozens of Steppe, Greater Spotted and even several Imperial Eagles.

Lesser Spotted Eagle - Aquila pomarina                                        Adult male Honey-buzzard - Pernis apivorus

A next peak came around October 4th with another several hundreds of Eagles. On top of the monitoring of priority species, many nice observations were made of rare birds, including Griffon Vultures, many Egyptian Vultures and Ospreys compared to previous years (a result of the new protocol?), another Oriental Honey-buzzard … and even a new species for the Batumi Raptor Count: an immature Eleonora’s Falcon. This is the 35th diurnal raptor species encountered at the site over the past 4 years.

Steppe Eagle - Aquila nipalensis                                                        Lesser Spotted Eagle - Aquila pomarina

Like you are all aware, during the counts several other activities aimed at community-based conservation are held at the site. In the weeks since our last update, two such projects should be highlighted here.

Firstly, the education of local people. This is a topic that will receive much attention from 2012 onwards, though some important pilot projects were conducted in 2011 that provide BRC (and Georgian partner GCCW) with crucial information for designing education tools. This year, one particular education effort included a cross-over with our international summer course for students. Educators from Armenia who joined BRC to learn about conservation-in-practice gave presentations to school children in the village of Sakhalvasho. A good introduction for the children about why those strange people come to count bird every year. But also an important chance for us to learn how we can captivate these children to protect raptors in the future, rather then to shoot them.

A local teacher introduces his class to BRC educators who have come to talk about raptors

Secondly, local capacity-building for ecotourism. By promoting sustainable use/ecotourism as a viable economical strategy, BRC aims to increase the local support for conservation of raptors. During the 2011 count several groups of tourists from all over Europe were hosted in BRC homestays: staying in the house of local families. We are happy to report this initiative is really catching on in the local community, and that in 2012 we will have the capacity to welcome several dozens of tourists in the area during the autumn migration season. This is a great step forward as the ecotourist sector can become a substantial part of the local economy, creating work opportunities for many unemployed people in the area.

Interested to visit BRC as an ecotourist in coming years? Keep on eye on our Visit BRC! webpage for more information!

BRC Homestays: great hosts, good food, and a view to die for ... Welcome to Georgia!

We also wish to report that the field work by BRC-team member Johannes Jansen for his Msc. Thesis dissertation on hunting pressure in the area was conducted successfully, and that photographer Bert Willaert has managed to collect an impressive series of images on the hunting topic. The work of both will be important pillars to promote the active protection of raptors in Georgia at the political and scientific level.

You may expect a final update/report on the project towards the end of October.

Right now, it seems like a good time to express our gratitude once more to everybody who is making BRC possible this year: our volunteers, coordinators, students and collaborators, partners and sponsors. Thank you!

The BRC Team

Dear all,

we are pleased to announce that the Rufford Small Grants Foundation has awarded 6000 GBP to the monitoring and educational activities of BRC 2011.

Despite the unfortunate timing for this news we wish to express our gratitude to the RSG Foundationf or their trust and belief in the aims and practice of the Batumi Raptor Count and acknowledge their support here.

Best regards,

the BRC Team

Hello dear BRC-enthusiasts,

the BRC 2011 counts have been going on for just over a month now, which means it is more than time to bring you another update. Many of you have been following our daily updated counts. You can also click through to the trektellen.nl website to make graphs of the recorded species.

Shortly after the last update, Honey-buzzard migration really exploded with several very good days (50.000 +) leading up to the peak day on Aug 31st with some 80.000 birds. However weather conditions quickly deteriorated after this peak, and after a few days of continuous rain migration exploded on Sept 5th as with the hords of Honeys also came a wave of Bee-eaters, Rollers (upto 368 in one day), Wagtails and many other birds. We enjoyed some very nice harrier migration during these days, with over 1000 Montagu's/Pallid harriers from station 1 on Sept 5th and several other days with harrier numbers reaching 300 - 600 individuals. But that has again been two weeks already. Right now Steppe Buzzard migration is getting started, whilst the majority of Honey-buzzards have passed.

top left: a juvenile Pallid Harrier (photo: Niels goulem) // top right: a single flock of 300+ White Storks was enough to smash the previous annual total of the species on Sept 4th (photo: Simon Cavailles) // bottom left: A smal flock of Honey-buzzards (photo: Simon Cavailles) // bottom right: a typical light phase Booted Eagle (photo: Niels Goulem)

And now the later migrants are pushing through observations of species like Egyptian Vulture, Short-toed Eagle, Steppe Eagle, ... are becoming more regular. Also the first dozens of Lesser Spotted Eagle have been counted so far. On Sept 5th the 2nd Crested Honey-buzzard was seen and we have observed the third Crested Honey-buzzard for BRC 2011 on Sep 18th: an adult male.

top: 2nd Crested Honey-buzzard for 2011 on Sept 5th (photo: Bert Willaert)
bottom: 3rd Crested  Honey-buzzard (adult male) for 2011 on Sept 18th (photo: Michele Pannucio)

Of course all these counts would not be possible without our great team of volunteers...

top left: Arthur - 'the BRC-Stig' - Green in 'counting mode' (photo: Simon Cavailles) // bottom left: Simon Cavailles and Corentin Rousseau counting a stream at station 3 (photo; Pim Wolf) // right: Coordinators Mael Sinoir and Marta Cabre

left: Simon & Corentin processing the day's data ... food and beer can wait ;-) (photo: Pim Wolf)
right: the sound of migration monitoring: click-click-click-... (photo: Olof Astrom)

And after long days of counting, the phenomenal dinners prepared for us by our hosts go down well in the evening. (photo: Pim Wolf)

At the end of August, the Turkish group of students succesfully ended their stay at the project, and at this moment a group of 6 Armenian students is here to learn more about monitoring projects and migratory bird conservation. During their stay students are introduced to the scientific principles behind structuring a protocol for data collection in function of your research questions. This includes a week-long  excercise whereby students aim to complete a mini-research project of their own at Batumi. The Turkish team tried to construct a protocol to find out if Black Kites and Booted Eagles actively follow Honey-buzzards during migration... 

An evening lecture in the BRC living room. Our enthusiastic Turkish students and some volunteers & count coordinators get introduced to the BRC monitoring protocol by a BRC Coordinator (photo: Pim Wolf)

By working with students but also locals and collaborating researchers, BRC tries to establish the local and international support needed to continue our work for conservation of migratory raptors here. Sadly, in 2011 we have again been confronted with the urgent need for conservation measures on the site, in particular for controlling illegal hunting. The fieldwork Msc. thesis on hunting pressure in the Adjaria province by BRC Coordinator Johannes Jansen is in any case turning up some interesting results. For 2012, the publication of these and other results will hopefully yield enough evidence for local policy makers to come into action.

top left: an afternoon of shooting comes to an end for some hunters who managed to kill a dozen buzzards, a harrier and a Black Stork
bottom left:  'beautiful birds, but full of bugs' ... shooting Bee-eaters is a casual habit...
right: in Chorokhi delta, a hunt during a rainy morning yielded several Quail, Corncrake, a Black-winged Stilt, Common and Great Snipe ... (photos by Bert Willaert)

Saddening and depressing as images like these above may be, our team is mostly positive about our interaction with the local community. It is clear that 2011 has become an important year for BRC, a year wherein many local families got to understand what our project is about, what our plans look like and why we feel so strongly about migratory birds. For now, we always try to enjoy the great diversity and numbers of birds that are passing through the bottleneck, knowing that we are very much needed here now, in order to be collecting pictures like the ones above as well as essential hard data to back up our findings.

top left: a kettle of Honey-buzzards streaming out to the top right of the picture (photo: Bert Willaert) // top right: Golden Orioles are common migrants, often aggregating in relatively large flocks, resting on tree tops before continueing their journey (photo: Simon Cavailles) //  bottom left: Broad-billed and Terek Sandpiper are the two waders on the wishlist for many birders visiting the Chorokhi delta (photo: Simon Cavailles) // bottom right: large flocks of Common and White-winged Terns can be seen at the beach, near the river mouth (photo: Pim Wolf)

Our apologies for the long time it took to bring you this update. We tried to make up for it with a lot of pictures and information ...

All the best

BRC Team

We are proud to announce that Swaroski Optik has responded positively to our request to support our project and they have lend us some of their products. No old and scratched habichts but brand new ATM HD scopes with 25-50 wide zoom and the recently launched Swarovision-EL50s! The three telescope sets and two binoculars were transported by Belgian volunteers and have succesfully arrived yesterday. They will be shared for use by our volunteers and students on our watchpoints, hopefully without evoking fights about who's turn it is. We will evaluate the quality of all the different models provided and will report about them here on our blog. 

Niels seems already convinced

You can have a look at the Swarovision-website for specifications of these new binoculars

and enjoy a birding game featuring some BRC-pictures:

“Too soon.” In the days leading up to the count, villagers here in Sakhalvasho conveyed to us that the count would begin in earnest on 20 August. There is something to be said about the collective knowledge of a tightly knit community that has lived on the same land for generations. On 20 August, we were treated not only to several flocks of bee-eaters and a steady stream of swifts, but a first vanguard of Honey Buzzard accompagnied by some Black Kite, Booted Eagle, and other raptor species, lending substance to the villagers’ gut conviction that this date might be significant for raptor migration here in Batumi. The BRC counters are tiptoeing in anticipation of the true ‘wave’ of Honey Buzzards to come as the end of August draws near … Take note of the daily updated count results on www.trektellen.nl!

Apart from raptors, other significant observations include the first migration of Bee-eaters, some wagtails, Golden Orioles … As far as resident birds go, a White-backed Woodpecker (a first for the BRC project) was observed from the Shuamta observatory.

A significant component of the BRC is outreach. We are fortunate to be joined by 6 Turkish students from the METU Birdwatching Association (Ankara) this month, who arrived on Friday and will be spending 12 days working alongside BRC participants. We are grateful for their interest and enthusiasm, and we hope to send them home with memories for a lifetime and enough impetus to consider a career in ornithology. In any case they will leave with lots of new knowledge acquired during one of many (evening) lectures, some 80 hours of count experience and many more talking with amateur and professional ornithologists from across the world.

With some literature on the stations and birds in the sky our students are learning to identify guilds of raptors.

How could we blame anyone for feeling tired after some 11-hour days of counting and then still doing a great job translating English lectures to Turkish in the evening? Thank you Soner, for being the dream coach of our Turkish student team! 5 minutes of sleep well earned!

No less than 10 nationalities are represented in the project at this point from the United States over Sweden or Spain to Iran. After a hard day of counting it is a true pleasure to see how the phenomenon of raptor migration can bring together such different people in such a close group. As if that would not be enough reason for celebration, Marta, one of our Count Coordinators, celebrated her 29th birthday with her new BRC friends some days ago.

Gaumarjos Marta!

Watch out for our next update. We will bring more news about our interactions with the locals soon. As this author is watching out the window he is seeing some hundreds of Honey Buzzards soaring in the east ... Time to head for the station where the team is vigorously scanning the sky ... perhaps with an unexpected visitor to add to the atmosphere of beautiful Sakhalvasho ...

The heat and haze hung heavy over Sakhalvasho today, as project participants kicked off the first day of the Batumi Raptor Count 2011. Much work lies ahead of us in the next two months, but the thrill of counting raptors in this very special part of the world is already apparent. What has also again become apparent is the warmth and incredible hospitality of the Georgian people, who have welcomed us onto their land and into their homes. From 2011 onwards BRC relocated its headquarters to the homes of several villagers living on the very hill where the first counting station is situated. It would not be an understatement to say that their support is what makes this count possible in the first place. Georgia is living up to our expectations once more!

A view from station Saghalvasho. The house on the right side is the new BRC headquarters ...

After the count, project participants got together to discuss the day over dinner. If Georgian hospitality wasn’t famous enough, the seemingly endless servings of delicious, homegrown Georgian food, much of it made within this very neighborhood, are difficult to pass up. Fresh honey harvested by our neighbours, cheese and butter from the cows of our host family, and the most organic fruits and vegeteables imagineable from the gardens around us .... BRC participants will not be starving for stimulating company or excellent food in the weeks ahead!

Today's counts are available on trektellen.nl for the two currently occupied counting stations: Station Sakhalvasho & Station Shuamta

With this first update on the 2011 season the BRC Team likes to express it's gratitude for the volunteers, coordinators and students that will be participating in the counts. Over 60 people will join us in Batumi this year! The same of course goes to our host families!

Looks like BRC2011 is right on track to achieve its major goal this year: to teach and learn in an international company of amateurs and experts about raptor migration, and to do so in strong cooperation with the local people.

We will be keeping you up to date on the proceedings of this autumn season over the course of the next weeks and months.

\

Our very best,

BRC Team

From now on, you'll be able to follow the Batumi counts in real time via www.trektellen.nl!

Every evening we will try to provide an update with the day totals. In the mean time, we have started to enter the count totals from 2008-2010. They give a nice idea of what you could expect during a visit to Batumi!

Hello birdwatchers and migration enthusiasts,

 

We hereby want to remind you of several vacant volunteering positions in the Batumi Raptor Count , between Sept 15th and October 16th 2011. BRC is looking for motivated volunteers to monitor migration of soaring raptors at Batumi, Georgia. In this period the majority of migration will consist of Steppe buzzards, Black kites, Short-toed Eagle, Lesser spotted eagles but upto 25 other species including Greater spotted, Steppe and Imperial Eagle, Pallid harrier, etc.

 

You stay with the rest of our volunteering team in a homestay in a small village right next to one of our observatories. We arrange for accommodation, dinner and local transportation. In return we only ask for a small contribution of 5 euro per day covering part of these costs.

 

To get some idea about the local atmosphere in the count please visit our online photoalbums from previous editions or this nice compilation video. Youtube also hosts a nice video of intense Honey-buzzard migration at Batumi in autumn 2009.

 

Interested to participate? You can find all necessary information on the BRC website – Count in 2011 webpage. Also find the preliminary schedule of BRC volunteers and the application form on this page!

 

BRC has successfully monitored raptor migration at the eastern Black Sea for 3 years and is ready for the 2011 start on August 17th! Over 120 volunteers from over 12 countries experienced this project as a rewarding opportunity to learn more about the bird migration that fascinates them in an international team of amateurs, experts and students.

 

We look forward to having you on board of our 2011 team!

 

BRC 2011

The Dutch ornithological journal Ardea has accepted our manuscript South West Georgia: an important bottleneck for raptor migration during autumn. The article documents the 2008-2009 surveys, which established the east Black Sea bottleneck as on of the most important in the world. It also includes a section on phenology of raptor migration in Batumi, and discusses the potential of the site for the detection of large-scale population trends.

This translation, realised by Giorgi Tsutskiridze and Nika Chargeishvili, is a first step in a cooperation between BRC and Georgian Credit. Georgian Credit is a microfinance institution that provides financial services to family economies, poor and low-income persons as well as to entrepreneurs so that they can create jobs, build assets, and improve their standard of living.

Hello everyone,

as spring is advancing we continue to get more of your applications to volunteer in BRC 2011. Thanks are in order!

The volunteers will from 2011 onwards be lead by a team of coordinators who will ensure that things run smoothly in Batumi throughout the entire monitoring season.

After the end of the applications for coordinators in April we were able to select 6 promising people to take on this leading role in our project: Julio Roldan (SP), Marta Peris Cabré (SP), Nicolas Vandestrate (BE), Simon Cavaillès (FR), Maël Sinoir (FR) and Arthur Green (USA).

Continue to a presentation of this team to find out more about their experience in migration/conservation projects around the world!

Note that we still have room for volunteers to join BRC in 2011! The necessary information can be found on our Count in 2011 webpage.

Kind regards,

The BRC Team

Hello everyone,

after a good response on our first application round we have now accepted many coordinators and volunteers to participate in BRC 2011. We thank all of them for their enthusiasm, good motivation and convincing application letters. Congratulations! All Coordinator positions have been filled (we will introduce the Team on the website shortly) and many of the positions for volunteers are now also taken.

However a large amount of positions remain vacant! Both at the start (Honey-buzzard migration, Montagu's Harrier) and the end (Eagles, Steppe Buzzard) of the season positions are still available!

Visit the Count in 2011! webpage now to apply for a volunteering position in BRC! All applications are now considered on a first-come-first-served basis, so don't hesitate to apply as soon as possible!

Kind regards,

BRC Team

The Ornithological Society of the Middle East has granted 500 GBP to the project 'Assessment of hunting pressure on migrating raptors through the Lesser Caucasus'.

For his master dissertation, Johannes Jansen will investigate the magnitude of the raptor shooting throughout the eastern Black Sea bottleneck. It will cover both the Adjara region in Georgia and NE Turkey. This project builds on the expertise and data collected during the previous editions of the BRC and will be conducted in close cooperation with the Georgian Centre for the Conservation of Wildlife and Kuzeydoga.

Based on geographical features of the landscape and migration patterns, a map of high mortality risk from shooting will be constructed in GIS, and the magnitude of this risk will be examined in the field during September 2011. It will include hunter counts, a questionnaire and counting and measuring of casualties. Montagu's harrier, Pallid harrier and Lesser spotted eagle have been selected as species of special interest.

The main goal is to obtain a global image of the impact of raptor shooting on migrating populations and to designate priority areas for conservation.

During the first week of March, Johannes and Brecht visited Georgia to make preparations for the upcoming count season. We managed to secure high-quality accommodation close to count site 1, which will be a huge improvement compared to last year's housing. We also met with our partners in the 2011-2012 project: Irakli Goradze (Ajara Government), Jimsher Mumachadze (PSOVI), Ramaz Gokhelashvili (Georgian Centre for the Conservation of Wildlife), Giorgi Rajebashvili (Ecotours Georgia), Zura Javakhelishvili, Alexander Gavakhelishvili (Ilia State University, Institute of Ecology), Alexander Abuladze and Giorgi Bakhtadze (Ilia State University, Institute of Zoology). Finally, we did some birding in East Georgia, with good numbers of wintering Imperial and Steppe Eagles, Great Black-headed Gulls and Pine Buntings.

Dear raptor enthusiasts,

Starting from 1 September 2011, BRC will offer the opportunity to enjoy the spectacular raptor migration to people who do not wish to be engaged in the surveys as a counter. This will comprise accommodation and boarding with local people, and transport between airport/train station, count sites and main birding hotspots in the region. Prices will be about 20-30 EUR pp/night for accommodation + boarding, and up to 50 EUR per day for transport, depending on distance and time. This money will go entirely to local people. A voluntary contribution of 20 EUR pp to the BRC for organizing your stay will be greatly appreciated.

More details will be published soon. Booking a stay is possible from now on at BRC.ecotourism AT gmail.com.

For people who wish to further explore Georgian nature, we can recommend the services of Ecotours Georgia: http://www.ecotours.ge.

Best wishes,

the BRC team

Hello everyone,

a while ago we announced the analysis of migration intensity and locality in function of weather at the Batumi bottleneck as a Msc. Thesis project by Jasper Wehrmann.

BRC has now also agreed to support a Bsc. Thesis project by Michael Tholin at Lund University (Sweden). He already has extensive experience in migration counts at both Batumi and Kazbegi and is therefore very familiar with migration patterns in these places. Michael will perform analysis under expert guidance at his university from remote-sensing images and weather and migration data. The latter will be provided in detail by BRC. 

We will keep you up to date of major advances in these projects throughout the year.

Kind regards,

the BRC Team

Hello everybody,

as announced, today we open the application procedure for volunteers in BRC 2011.

You can find all information on our Count in 2011! webpage.

The application procedure with links to both the Volunteer schedule and Application Form are available at the bottom of that page.

All the best,

the BRC Team

Hello everyone,

in autumn 2011 Nicolantonio Agostini and Michele Panuccio of the MEDRAPTORS (Mediterranean Raptor Migration Network) will conduct field work at Batumi in cooperation with BRC.

They will collect data on the flight behavior of the most numerous species of soaring birds during a period of three weeks. The most important species during their stay will be Steppe buzzard, Lesser-spotted eagle, Booted eagle and Black kite.

These experienced researchers will measure flight altitude in relation to atmospherical conditions. As such the study aims to improve our understanding of the efficiency with which soaring birds migrate under differing weather conditions and how this affects local route choice in the bottleneck.

Studies on flight behavior in function of weather are crucial for a migration monitoring project. Because counts can be subject to large variability due weather conditions it is (among other issues) crucial to show that a watch-site like Batumi covers a majority of the seasonal migratory flow. This research will be an important early step in getting to understand local migration dynamics of different species.

MEDRAPTORS researchers are well-placed for conducting such research. Nicolantonio and Michele have worked a lot on flight behavior and routes of especially Honey-buzzards and Short-toed eagle in the Mediterranean basin. An extensive list of the many works by them and other MEDRAPTORS authors concerning migratory behavior and raptor migration ecology can be found on their website.

We welcome Nicolantonio and Michele to the 2011 Team and look forward to our fieldwork in September!

Kind regards,

BRC Team

Hello everyone,

as promised the application forms for count coordinators have now (Feb 15th) been published under BRC Vacancies.

Click here to find the Vacancies!

Forms for volunteers will be published on Mar 1st 2011!

Kind regards,

BRC Team