Field updates
One last watch over the bottleneck: the end of the count
After 71 days scanning Batumi's skies, our 2026 count ends with steady migration, a Rough-legged Buzzard and thanks to everyone who made the season possible.
Field updates
Crazy, chaotic and unforgettable: Batumi’s second biggest day ever!
A total of 239,735 birds makes this BRC's second biggest count day ever, with new records for Black Kites and several eagle species after a week of rain.
Field updates
One million raptors counted!
A day of 54,406 birds carries the Batumi count past one million raptors, with memorable encounters on station and 39 volunteers joining us so far this season.
Field updates
Crested Honey Buzzards!
Among this season's vast Honey Buzzard migration, 54 Crested Honey Buzzards have stood out, almost twice the average recorded at Batumi.
Field updates
Kite, Kite, Kite! Optics and unusual birds at the halfway mark
At the halfway mark of our 18th autumn count, unusual kites keep us looking closely. Thanks to Kite Optics, our team has the equipment to follow the flight.
Field updates
500,000 birds counted!
Three days with over 90,000 birds each have carried the Batumi count past half a million, as Honey Buzzards fill the skies and more species are still to come.
Field updates
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.
Field updates
Our first 10,000+ day of the season!
Honey Buzzards have arrived in force: nearly 19,300 birds crossed the Batumi bottleneck during the first 10,000+ day of the 2026 season.
Field updates
The first proper Honey Buzzard day
After several drizzly days, the clouds parted and streams of Honey Buzzards carried the season to its first substantial migration day.
Field updates
The first day of the 2026 autumn count
BRC's 18th autumn raptor count is under way, with the first Honey Buzzards, eagles and storks already moving through the Batumi bottleneck.
Field updates
The 2026 season is about to start and the annual T-shirt is available!
The 2026 BRC coordinators have arrived in Batumi. Meet this year's team and find the new T-shirt.
Field updates
And… it’s a wrap. What a season!
It all came to a beautiful end. We began the count with a Marsh Harrier and wrapped it up with a Steppe Buzzard, both iconic species for the bottleneck. But so much happened in between...
Field updates
1.5 Million raptors!
For the first time in BRC history, we have recorded a staggering 1.5 million raptors in a single autumn season, a true milestone after 17 years of counting!
Field updates
What’s going on up north?
Although we haven’t shared many updates about our pilot count at Kvirike, that doesn’t mean we haven’t been counting!
Field updates
Kite, Kite, Kite Optics
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.
Field updates
1,422,172 and counting
We’ve broken the season record of 1,422,171 raptors set in 2021! At 14:52 today, the 1,422,172nd bird crossed our transect line to the east - a juvenile Black Kite making its way through the misty clouds.
Field updates
The weeks of diversity
The weeks of diversity have started! After the thrill of the million, we went straight through to the peaks of diversity. And that brings along… the eagles.
Field updates
1,000,000 raptors — already!
It was a day full of suspense. We only needed a little over 10.000 more birds. We extracted every single one of them out of the bright blue sky.
Field updates
Wave after wave after wave
Over 800,000 raptors counted — and we’re not even halfway through the season!
Field updates
Half a million raptors!
Today we counted over 100K birds, which means we reached the half a million milestone!
Field updates
High up above: the first few days from Kvirike
Our pilot count from Chalet Kvirike has now been running for a week and a half, and we must admit we are impressed by what we have so far experienced. Raptors often fly by at eye level, allowing for absolutely incredible views!
Field updates
The Honey Buzzards have arrived!
What week it has been in the bottleneck! The weather threw everything at us—rain, fog, blazing sun—but the migration didn’t stop, and neither did we.
Field updates
The first 1000+ raptors day
It has been 6 days now since the start of the count and yesterday was our first 1000+ day! Finally!!
Field updates
Station 3 – Pilot count from Chalet Kvirike
Every year the same questions come up at our watch sites: what would we see if we counted from higher up in the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus? Would we see more Harriers? Are birds flying above the clouds?
Field updates
The count has started!
Yesterday was the first day of the 17th autumn count. With a small team of counters we counted a small number of birds for this first day.
Field updates
Count preparations
Yesterday, the coordinators of 2025 arrived in Batumi - the first all-women coordinating team in the history of BRC!
Field updates
Already 400K raptors during the 3rd and final Spring Count
The 3rd pilot Spring Count is already halfway through, we have been counting for one and a half months and have already counted 400k raptors this season.
Field updates
Season 2019 has started
This year the 12th of August already marked the start of the 12th Batumi Raptor Count. To better detect changes in migration timing, we have decided to start the count 5 days earlier and finish 5 days later.
Field updates
Spring Count Update
Where to start? Well, let's start with the beginning of the day: unlike in autumn, where you are woken up by just the sound of the local rooster calling, in spring he's joined by a choir of feathered friends.
Field updates
Pioneering pilot spring count in Batumi 2019
Spring migration in Batumi? We would love to show you what that looks like, but we don’t really know. All we know for certain is that birds will be going in the opposite direction, somewhat like in the video below. But how many?
Field updates
1 Million Raptors!
Yesterday's highlights were the more than 100,000 raptors counted by both stations and the almost 1,700 eagles on Station 1, but we fell just short of the million.
Field updates
Harrier Madness
The best day of the season on Station 2! So far.
Field updates
500,000 Raptors counted!
The birds may not care, but we do: today we passed the 500,000 raptors mark!
Field updates
The first 100,000
We have now been counting for 12 days and yesterday we passed the first milestone of the season: we have counted the first 100,000 birds! The start of the season has been everything but standard this autumn.
Field updates
Half a Million
Today added another 75.000 to the tally. Our volunteers have been counting for exactly 3 weeks now, and have reached a season total of 498.928 raptors! Almost half a million, right? Six more weeks to go, bring it!
Field updates
Volunteer from Kenya - Welcome Martha Mutiso
We are very pleased that for the 10th anniversary of the autumn count, BRC is able to welcome the first African volunteer into our project.
Field updates
TWENTY-thousand Honey Buzzards and counting
Today we saw a first wave of Honey Buzzards coming over. A nice start, more to come ;) The first movements of harriers were noted as well.
Field updates
Start of the 10th autumn season count
Tomorrow the 10th edition of the Batumi Raptor Count officially starts! Last days team members were actively working to prepare the count.
Field updates
Season take off - get ready for the peaks
It was a calm start, yes, totally calm. Only few birds passed the stations putting us in disbelief about migration ways but never doubt the birds, they will certainly come.
Field updates
Apparently Montagu's Harrier migrates with delay this year in Batumi
Reaching the average peak around 3 Sep we usually have good numbers already in August. Until 25 Aug we count in average a proportion of 600 and more Montagu's Harrier / MonPalHen.
Field updates
Tomorrow we start to count
Tomorrow we will launch the 9th edition of the Batumi Raptor Count! Coordinators and first volunteer counters have settled in Sakhalvasho, Georgia, during the last days in order to complete preparations.
Field updates
1 million raptors within 7 weeks!
After 7 weeks of counting in autumn 2015 we reached again the season total of 1 million raptors! Steppe Buzzard migration finally kicked off and we counted over 120 000 birds during 3rd, 4th and 5th of October.
Field updates
500.000 within first 3 weeks
The first 3 weeks of raptor migration counting in Batumi are over and we can already say that the start of this season was a big surprise.
Field updates
African-Eurasian day record from Batumi: 264.891 raptors
On 2nd October 2014 our counting team witnessed the largest passage of raptors ever seen outside of the Panamerican Flyway and counted 264.891 raptors in a single day!
Field updates
Halfway through the count
This season we started with some very positive upgrades to Sakhalvasho village. The days of fighting with the blue tarp are finally over… at least on station-1… We now have an actual shelter and proper stairs leading there.
Field updates
Good start of spring count
The first day of spring count in Batumi was dominated by the migration of Steppe Buzzards and Black Kites. In the morning we saw them flying close to the mountains and were afraid of a long day with distance observations only.
Field updates
End of BRC autumn count 2013
BRC's monitoring of migrating raptors autumn 2013 is over! Yesterday, the 16th of October, was the final day of our monitoring program. In total, from both count stations together 1.229.199 raptors were counted this fall.
Field updates
Catch up on the season
This year’s autumn migration season has been underway for 21 days now, and so far everything points to another great experience for all participants.
Field updates
Ready to count!
The first hours of counting migratory raptors at Batumi has started. Honey Buzzards, Harriers and Bee-eaters have already passed the stations.
Field updates
African-Eurasian Day Record: 179,342 Honey Buzzards
Few days ago on August 30th we were happy to report to you our all time record of 99,000 Honey Buzzards passing our observatories.
Field updates
Day record of 99.000 Honey Buzzards on 30th August 2012
The unique convergence of migratory raptors in Georgia is strongly shaped by the weather conditions in the region, something the BRC team has long observed firsthand.
Field updates
Count kicked off today
Today the first volunteers, assisted by our coordinators, started the autumn 2012 count. Just a few hours in, they had already reported the season's first juvenile Pallid Harrier, on a very rainy day!
Field updates
Towards the end of the 2011 season…
As the 2011 count draws to a close, the BRC team looks back on a successful season of monitoring, community-based conservation and student exchange in Batumi.
Field updates
Halfway through the season…
The BRC 2011 counts have been running for just over a month, with Honey Buzzard migration in full swing and Steppe Buzzards now taking over. Here's an update on the season so far, our volunteer team, and life on site in Batumi.
Field updates
One week of BRC: 18 volunteers + 6 students vs. 10.000 raptors!
“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.
Field updates
BRC 2011 … Starting the autumn season!
The heat and haze hung heavy over Sakhalvasho today, as project participants kicked off the first day of the Batumi Raptor Count 2011.
Field updates
Lots of rain, lots of migration, lots of rain, lots of migration...
Over 10 days since the last update and the weather conditions in Batumi have changed dramatically compared to what we experienced in September.
Field updates
A summary of 2 weeks at Batumi: migration in general & some perspectives on hunting in the bottleneck…
It has been nearly two weeks since the last update and since then there has still not been a long period of unfavourable weather in between the Caucasus and Batumi.
Field updates
BRC 2010: the full state of affairs…
The 2010 Batumi Raptor Count is now halfway so we bring you a longer update than usual.
Field updates
Slow migration, but Oriental Honey-Buzzards on three succesive days...
Following the season's first Crested (Oriental) Honey Buzzard on 9 September, two more were spotted on the following two days, a rare treat during an otherwise slow migration spell.
Field updates
Oriental Honey Buzzard! ... That calls for a little newsflash!
Another 40,000 Honey Buzzards passed through the bottleneck today, capped off by a stunning adult female Oriental Honey Buzzard, only the fourth ever recorded at Batumi.
Field updates
Spectacular migration at the Batumi bottleneck!
It has been a busy week at the Batumi bottleneck, with peak Honey Buzzard migration arriving right on schedule alongside notable sightings of Steppe Eagle and Demoiselle Crane.
Field updates
Short update
After two days of rain the weather is improving and temperatures are rising to 35° and higher on the counting stations.
Field updates
Two weeks of counting ... 100.000 Honey Buzzards!
it has been about two weeks since the start of count and in that time approx. 100.000 Honey Buzzards Pernis aviporus passed the Batumi bottleneck. This included over 60.000 individuals on August 24th.
Field updates
BRC 2010 ... takeoff!
with the start of the count, we can offer you all some more news concerning BRC 2010.