Flyway Monitoring Trainees of 2025

Last year, we launched the BRC Flyway Monitoring Traineeship, a new initiative developed together with our long-time partner OSME, to support and empower ambitious bird conservationists from across the East Afro-Eurasian Flyway. The aim: to provide our trainees with hands-on experience in organizing migration monitoring, and to help them bring that knowledge back to their home countries and initiatives throughout the flyway.

With the support of OSME’s Youth Development Fund, the programme continues this autumn — and we are proud to welcome no less than three new trainees to Batumi. Now, as autumn approaches, we’re thrilled to introduce the 2025 cohort of trainees.

Meet the 2025 Trainees

Below, the 2025 trainees introduce themselves in their own words,
sharing what brought them to apply and what drives their work in bird conservation.

Motahareh Hakiminejad, 2025 Flyway Monitoring Trainee from Iran — Motahareh Hakiminejad — Iran “Motahareh, from Iran, is a biologist passionate about bird conservation and avian migration. Currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Biodiversity Conservation and Management, she has been a key team member of the Hyrcan Raptor Count (more in this OSME blog) in northwest Iran since 2022, co-managing the 2024 count. She contributes to field surveys, bird banding, and Common Swift rehabilitation, while creating educational content and hold talks about bird ecology and conservation to promote awareness. Skilled in data analysis and photography, Motahareh is dedicated to advancing raptor conservation and fostering community engagement, driven by her deep appreciation for nature and wildlife.”

Yaren Ozogul Gorur, 2025 Flyway Monitoring Trainee from Turkiye — Yaren Özogul Görür — Türkiye “I am an ecologist dedicated to nature conservation, particularly keen on birds. My academic interests stem from human impacts on wildlife and conservation strategies. In my Master’s Thesis, I studied road ecology to understand how human pressures amplify ecological threats, emphasising the need to keep terrestrial ecosystems as intact as possible. I am curious about understanding birds’ responses to habitat change and human activities, aiming to become a conservation-oriented bird ecologist. Therefore, I believe that long-term bird monitoring, like BRC, is vital for understanding global environmental changes and acting proactively.”

Leyla Muslim, 2025 Flyway Monitoring Trainee from Azerbaijan — Leyla Muslim — Azerbaijan “Leyla is a birdwatcher and eco-guide from Azerbaijan with over seven years of experience in bird migration counts (as a team member of the Besh Barmag Bird Migration Count) and guiding. She is passionate about raptor migration, conservation, and engaging local communities in nature-based tourism.”

Each of our trainees will spend a month embedded with the Batumi Raptor Count, learning firsthand how to run a high-standard raptor migration monitoring project. Their stay is funded through OSME’s Youth Development Fund, which covers travel and accommodation expenses up to €1300 per person.

About the Traineeship

The traineeship is designed to support early-career conservationists from the OSME region who are committed to bringing knowledge and experience back to local monitoring initiatives. Trainees become full members of the BRC team and not only contribute to the counts directly, but also gain behind-the-scenes experience of what it takes to run a successful migration count.

Applications for 2025 are now closed, but we encourage all interested candidates to start preparing for next season. You can read more about the traineeship via the button below.