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!
Reports & Research
One million raptors: But where do they come from?
As a migration counter, you can’t help but wonder where the bird you just tallied came from, and where it is going. We look at a new study that helps answer this question for the raptors migrating through Batumi.
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.
Merchandise
BRC 2025 T-Shirt
With so many brilliant women involved in this year’s count, it felt only fitting to place a strong female at the heart of this season’s T-shirt design.
Field updates
Count preparations
Yesterday, the coordinators of 2025 arrived in Batumi - the first all-women coordinating team in the history of BRC!
Events
BRC at the Avian Odyssey 2025
We’re excited to share that Batumi Raptor Count will be part of the Avian Odyssey 2025, the annual meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club, held this year at the Natural History Museum in London. Our chairman Tohar Tal will be speaking about BRC’s work protecting one of the world’s most spectacular raptor migrations.
Get Involved
Flyway Monitoring Trainees of 2025
Last year, we launched the BRC Flyway Monitoring Traineeship, a new initiative with our long-time partner OSME. Meet the 2025 cohort of trainees.
Get Involved
Applications open for the 2025 Flyway Monitoring Traineeship
With preparations for the 2025 Autumn count well underway, we're delighted to open applications for the BRC Flyway Monitoring Traineeship, run in partnership with OSME.
Get Involved
Call for Counters: We’re looking for volunteers for Autumn 2025
After successfully finishing another crowdfunding campaign, we’re happy to announce the call for counters. We have now opened the application form and are…
Fundraising
Soaring to success: We reached our €30,000 crowdfunding goal for Autumn 2025
Less than three months after re-launching our crowdfunding campaign, we're delighted to announce that we've reached our €30,000 goal to fund the Autumn 2025 count in the Batumi bottleneck.
Merchandise
The BRC Webshop is open!
We are proud to announce that BRC now has its very own webshop, featuring a broad collection of beautiful, self-designed merchandise.
Fundraising
Fundraiser for 2025
For sixteen years the BRC has conducted high-quality raptor migration counts. This long-term monitoring is critical to understand how bird populations are doing in our rapidly changing world.