You promise your time.
We promise you'll contribute to solid long-term monitoring. We promise endless streams of raptors.

Michaëla Berdougo

France

Coming from mostly a bird-ringing background, I wanted to immerse myself in raptor migration counting to improve my raptor identification skills and learn about a culture very different from our own. Two and a half months counting with BRC, plus two weeks traveling around Georgia, taught me much more than I could have imagined.

While long and early days can be intimidating and exhausting, the stunning show that is tens of thousands of birds passing you on migration outweighs any of it. Having the opportunity to be there for the whole migration period gets you to admire the gradual, or very sudden, change in species composition of never-ending streams, only to be followed by steppe buzzards taking over the sky in unpredictable patterns. While I struggled to identify species on big days, I realized I had learned more than I thought when I surprised myself calling out raptor species far out in Sweden without needing to lift my binoculars up.

You'd think being the only woman for the first three weeks would have been challenging, but it hadn't crossed my mind then. I felt equally part of the team, only with a lot more to learn about birds amongst these hardcore Dutch, Belgian, and Finnish birders. The challenge was with locals, in a culture where sexism is still very much present, even though I felt much safer walking by myself in Batumi than I ever did in Paris. It helped me become more assertive and more comfortable standing my ground.

Furthermore, Georgia is an incredible country with fantastic wildlife, and I would recommend anyone joining BRC to take some more time to explore it. The mountains on the Russian border offer lynxes, bearded vultures, choughs, and Güldenstädt's redstarts, while the steppes near the Azerbaijan border offer jungle cats, chukars, rock nuthatches, and wild pheasants. Experience the Georgian hospitality and community, and enjoy the loads of food this country offers!

Yee-Kay Stephanie Chan

United States

As a new birder from the United States who started birding as a hobby during the pandemic, I was initially nervous to participate in Batumi Raptor Count's scientific research as I had very little experience with Western Palearctic species, let alone be involved in counting them from a distance. Luckily, my curiosity of both raptors and Georgia overcame my initial trepidation and I stayed in Batumi for two short weeks in September of 2023.

The schedule every day was quite simple: we woke up early, had breakfast together, went on a routine hike to the watchpoint, counted raptors, and came back down the mountain to have dinner together in the evenings. Some days the hikes were hard and the sun was immensely hot, but I felt that the group always took care of one another and most importantly had a sense of humor for every occasion despite the days being physically demanding. I was amazed at the different nationalities and ages represented in the group and felt inspired by the other women counters and their knowledge and dedication to ornithology. As it was my first count, the learning curve was high but the seasoned birders always took the time to teach me helpful tips and I left with the knowledge and experience of counting thousands of Honey Buzzards, amongst other species. While we rarely see Black Kites venture to North America, I was able to identify them quite easily from afar when visiting my relatives in Hong Kong a few weeks later.

I identify as an Asian-American woman and have long been an advocate of people of color and of all ages to be represented in STEM-related opportunities and environments. I was anxious to participate as a minority birder (and as an introvert), but all the BRC counters I met were incredibly kind and Georgian hospitality is unparalleled (our host family even threw me a surprise birthday party on my second day of arrival)! Although Georgia is quite a long flight away from the United States, I remember having left my first count feeling like I wanted to make BRC a priority in my life to return to for future seasons and am grateful to have made many new friends from around the globe. I highly recommend this experience of being immersed in an environment full of people who are equally as passionate about the magic of raptors and their migration as they are with conservation and sustainability.

Heather Fortune

United Kingdom

I joined BRC for two weeks in Autumn 2023 because I was interested in getting more experience working with birds and I'd heard about the migration spectacle there. When I signed up, I had virtually no experience in raptor identification and was worried that on top of that, I wouldn't be taken seriously as a young (21) female counter. But the group couldn't have been more welcoming and became like a second family during my time in Batumi. I was there during the first two weeks of the count, which meant that numbers were low and we had lots of spare time to chat and get to know each other. I was initially worried that all conversations would be dominated by birds and I wouldn't be able to contribute, but I soon realised that these 'bird-obsessed' volunteers had other interests too! People worked as doctors, dentists, golfers, insect biologists, and we all had something in common.

The atmosphere was far from the competitive birding culture I'd heard stories of. No one laughed at me when I called out "raptor!" and it turned out to be a purple heron (a species I'd never heard of!). They instead thanked me for calling it out regardless (better to be wrong than to miss a bird) and explained to me the difference between how raptors and herons fly so that I'd know for next time! And despite my little bird identification knowledge, I still managed to make a genuine contribution by spotting birds and counting totals. There was actually a 50:50 split in male vs female counters for at least half of my stay. I was very inspired by the other female counters, and feel that their presence has encouraged me to continue to pursue a career in ornithology. I can say quite honestly that having just finished up a year of bird conservation projects across Europe and Asia, Batumi was easily one of the most enjoyable, and I would absolutely love to return some day.

Eva Drukker

The Netherlands

I joined the Batumi Raptor Count in 2019 and have been coming back ever since — and even joined the organising team! I was mostly in doubt of joining because I was very uncertain about my identification skills. I had perhaps seen a Honey Buzzard once or twice before in my life, and never even seen any of the eagles that are frequent flyers through the bottleneck. What did I have to offer as a volunteer? But I had it in my mind to join for a long time and applied for five weeks. I was very nervous for the interview. But I was accepted, huzzah! Of course, in hindsight, because if you are enthusiastic enough to learn and a good team player, you fit right in. A very welcoming diverse community with incredibly dedicated people that I met in those five weeks. Many of them I still see today and have become very close friends. And I find it so amazing to look back on how my skills have improved. How could I have ever not recognized a juvenile Honey Buzzard?

Elien Hoekstra

The Netherlands

I was convinced by my brother that I needed to join the autumn count. Which I did, in autumn 2017, with lots of nerves and doubts, because I didn't think I was 'good enough' to join. My identification skills were not as good as others (or my brother), I only had binoculars and didn't know if I would fit in with the other people. But my first two weeks in Batumi were absolutely amazing! Even with my skill level I was able to participate very well, able to count lots of birds and learn more about identification of raptors. Of course as a first-time-BRC'er witnessing the peak Honey Buzzard migration was magical and something I will never forget. And each and every year besides the amazing raptor migration, the people I get to meet are fantastic. It is like a family you become a part of, with people from all different backgrounds, from all over the world, who share this passion for raptors.

And the rest is history, I have come back multiple times for full-seasons and am now part of the organisational team. I have learned so much since joining the BRC, my identification skills have become drastically better, I have a great group of friends, and it sparked a new interest for me: moult (I did my bachelor thesis on the moult of raptors in Batumi and plan to continue this research for my Master thesis).

Leo Akhmeteli

Georgia

I first volunteered for the Batumi Raptor Count in 2021. I was already very interested in birds and wanted to do some volunteering to increase my knowledge and meet people with similar interests as me. However, after reaching out to many nature conservation organisations in Georgia, I soon realised there were not many opportunities in my country. I was very happy to find an international organisation like BRC, and despite not having a lot of practical experience in identifying raptors, I applied and was very happy to be accepted. BRC is open to volunteers of all levels so it was the perfect opportunity to learn from more experienced counters.

As I arrived to Batumi, I was the only Georgian in an international group of counters and coordinators. Many Georgians would perhaps prefer a Georgian team because of the language barrier, but for me being in a team of internationals was actually wonderful. Everyone was always very helpful with raptor identification, and I was able to contribute a lot - not only as a counter, but also as a translator when some communication was needed between the team and the hosts of our guesthouses. I really hope more Georgians will volunteer in the future, especially considering that we have so much diversity of birds in Georgia and more people should learn about the importance of the Batumi flyway.

I met a lot of amazing people that year and soon joined the BRC monitoring team, which I am still a part of. I try to go back to Batumi every year, not only for all the amazing migrating birds, but also for the people I met or am about to meet.