Batumi Raptor Count

Batumi Bird Festival

19th to 23rd of September 2012

Dear BRC-sympathizer, you are invited to celebrate 5 years of Batumi Raptor Count! Since the first edition of BRC, we’ve worked together to build up a project that embraces many aspects. We established a yearly monitoring, run by volunteers. We trained dozens of regional exchange students and promote several bachelor and master dissertations. We made the first steps for an educational program in the local schools.
We stimulated local eco-tourism by helping the community to run home-stays. And we established a close cooperation with the ministries of Tourism and Environment of Adjara. In all our actions, we try to tackle the conservation problems related to the illegal hunting in a careful and thoughtful way. For this, we share the same motivation: our love for raptors and the incredible phenomena of migration that we witness every autumn, in a fantastic country. We can be truthfully proud of our achievements. And we want to show this to the world!

Your participation in this festival is important for us. With your subscription, you will support our organization and give us more strength to achieve our conservation goals.

 

To celebrate the 5th edition of the Batumi Raptor Count, Batumi Bird Festival, photo by Bert Willaert we invite you to join our Batumi Bird Festival, between the 19th and 23rd of September 2012. The full four-day program will encompass a diversity of birding activities, all related to the study and conservation of the migration spectacle. We guarantee you lots of raptors  and other migrants, interesting lectures, delicious Georgian food and comfortable accommodation in a warm and hospital atmosphere. To meet different levels of comfort, you will be able to chose between home stays or hotel accommodation.

Program

We will offer daily excursions, for a variety of interests. You will have the option to choose between watching the raptors at our watch sites, visit other birding hotspots in the region (eg. Batumi’s seaside park, Botanical garden, the harbor, the Chorochi delta,…), or one of the national parks of the region (Mtirala, Kobuleti, Kolkheti) or pay a cultural visit to the region. All of the trips will occur in small groups and will be lead by experienced guides.
>> read more

Lectures

There will be an array of interesting evening lectures, by leading raptor specialists and conservationists. We are proud to present you Dr. Keith Bildstein (Hawk Mountain, USA). As director of the oldest raptor migration sanctuary, he will relate their history with the importance of and benifits gained from protecting migrating raptors worldwide. Alejandro Onrubia (Fundacion Migres, Spain) will highlight the possibilities of monitoring raptors from migration watch-sites throughout Europe.  Erwin van Maanen (Earth Holistics, the Netherlands) will introduce you to the tradition of Sparrowhawk-trapping in the region and it's issues. Andrea Corso (Messina, Italy) will help you "Advance in sexing and aging Western-Palearctic Raptors" with a presentation and a workshop. 
>> read more

Accomodation and prices

We offer two types of accomodation during the festival, to meet different levels of comfort and budget.
One is 3-star high-comfort hotel accomodation in Batumi, at our festival location.
Second option are our homestays in Sakhalvasho-village, near our project-house and count stations.
>> read more

Booking

There's a 20% discount for early bookings before the 15th of May, so proceed quickly to the form.
>> Booking form

Your Batumi Bird Festival Team

festival@batumiraptorcount.org

Thanks to the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Ajara Autonomous Republic for their support

 

© Batumi Raptor Count  2008 - 2012