Kite, Kite, Kite Optics
A juvenile Black Kite of the eastern variation. Photo by Bart Hoekstra.
Kite, kite, KITE! We’d like to give a big shout-out to our sponsor this year, Kite Optics, for the T-shirts and optics.
We are grateful to Kite Optics for sponsoring us with a fantastic set of optics.
Access to binoculars or scopes can be a barrier for some of our international volunteers and trainees, but now, thanks to Kite Optics, everyone is able to participate fully in the count using state-of-the-art equipment! Beside this, we also had the chance to use their stabilized scopes and binoculars. Having tired hands and arms after scoping birds all day, gives a big advantage with these stabilizers 😉
It’s been an exceptional year for kites. On September 14th, we broke the single-day record for kites, with 43,790 birds counted at one station alone. Then, on October 2nd, we passed 350,000 Black Kites for the season — a new season record! We had an incredibly thrilling moment when we observed the possible first Red Kite for Batumi, that later turned out to be a hybrid (also thrilling and more on this matter later). And to top it off, the highlight of the season: when we broke the record for the most birds ever counted in Batumi - 1,422,172 - the bird that tipped us over that number was, fittingly, a beautiful juvenile Black Kite. A big thank you once again to Kite Optics for their support this year.
Discounted optics via the Kite Optics webshop
We’re grateful to Kite Optics for supporting the Batumi Raptor Count with high-quality optical equipment. As part of their sponsorship, Kite offers a 10% discount on all webshop orders using the code BRC2500KT at checkout.