Reports & Research
Falconry - Third time's the charm
After returning from Georgia last year, with ‘only’ two Levant Sparrowhawks tagged out of eight anticipated individuals, our moods were down. But in autumn 2023 we gave it another chance.
Reports & Research
Falconers: friends or foes in raptor research and conservation?
Batumi Raptor Count has long documented the causes and consequences of illegal raptor shooting in Georgia, but the role of traditional falconers remained a blind spot. Last autumn, BRC teamed up with Fauna & Flora International to explore whether a constructive alliance with ethical falconers is possible.
Events
Watch now: Worlds Collide selected for British Documentary Festival
A short film directed by Nicholas Rodd about migration through the Georgian bottleneck has been selected by the British Documentary Festival, and is free to watch until May 14th.
Reports & Research
NEW BRC Publication in Sandgrouse
Our study on hunters' habits and motivations for shooting raptors in the Batumi bottleneck has been published in Sandgrouse, the journal of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East and the Caucasus (OSME). Congratulations to Anna Sandor, Johannes Jansen and Wouter Vansteelant!
Reports & Research
Update on hunting monitoring
The first year of the systematic monitoring of the hunting pressure in the Batumi Bottleneck is slowly coming to its end.
Get Involved
Hunting monitoring volunteers
Sabuko - Society for Nature Conservation Georgia is looking for motivated people who want to help monitor the illegal hunting pressure in the Batumi bottleneck.
Events
Talk at OSME, Norfolk on illegal hunting in Batumi (4th July)
Talk by Oliver Reville: Addressing illegal hunting at Batumi through education and awareness raising.
Reports & Research
Raptor shooting survey
Not only birdwatchers are keen on autumn raptor migration, the region around Batumi is also notorious for its raptor shooters. Although it is illegal in Georgia to shoot raptors, many get shot when passing the bottleneck.
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.