250,000 birds counted!
A quarter of a million birds counted this season, with Honey Buzzards making up 98% of the total while Black Kites and Marsh Harriers remain unusually scarce.
We are a quarter of the way to reaching a million birds this season! This sets us ahead of the average 231,778* birds counted by this date. Undoubtedly, the star of the show for the past week has been European Honey Buzzards, which comprise 98% of our current totals. While the Honey Buzzards seem to be on time this year, we are a bit bewildered by the near-absence of other medium raptors in our streams. In an average year, only 89%* of the birds we have counted by now would be Honey Buzzards!
With good views and experienced observers picking through streams, for the past week we have regularly entered thousands of Honey Buzzards into Trektellen at a time, along with only a handful of other species or none at all! Compared to averages from previous years, we have seen 80%* fewer Black Kites and 78%* fewer Marsh Harriers than usual. Booted Eagles are closer to our expected totals, with just 25%* fewer than average.
Will we see a surge of medium raptors later this month? We look forward to sharing how the flight continues to unfold!
*Based on Trektellen data from 2017–2025 across the Sakhalvasho and Shuamta stations.
