Visit to Georgia -- August 23rd to September 13th 2023

Nick Rossiter

Summary

Here’s summaries for Georgia visit from 23/8 to 13/9 2023 for bird records and for butterfly records. Birds comprised 95 species from 265 records, 22 complete lists, 27 places. Butterflies comprised 13 species from 3 places.

Diary

September 13th: maximum 18C, minimum 11C, light N, sunny spells, dry. Riga. A busy day, up at 02:15 after getting to bed at 21:00 (12/9). Got taxi at 02:40 to Batumi Airport BUS (driver was very chatty) where had some breakfast. Flight with Air Baltic was on time, leaving at 05:30 for RIX and arriving at 08:45 (Riga time, BUS-1) so flight was 4 hour 15 min; it was inspiring flying W along the Black Sea at dawn on the Turkish coast before turning N over Romania, western Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. The distance is 2,975 km, compared to the direct 2,116 km flying over Crimea and the east of Ukraine (not recommended!). Riga has long-standing connections with Batumi: many Russians were moved forcibly into Latvia and many of the indigenous population were transferred elsewhere; Riga's population is about half Russian ethnically. The Russians like Crimea and Georgia for beach holidays. Many menus in Batumi are in Georgian, Russian and English. I didn't get the impression the Russians were disliked in Georgia; they are important economically (holidays, trade, property investors) but there's anxiety about what the Russians will do to Georgia if the Ukraine conflict is resolved in Russia's favour. So I had about 6 hours in Riga until my flight at 15:45 to Gatwick; did some work on laptop but not that wide awake. Noted 2 Hooded Crow and 2 Steppe Buzzard. Have seen the whole of Wagner's Ring cycle in Riga in 2013, with son, very inspired performance in an intimate theatre. This flight also left on time but the trip started going downhill as we approached the dysfunctional UK. Coming into Gatwick, the plane was just 50 feet off the ground and on time, when suddenly, the engines were put into full thrust, the cone was raised and we went roaring back into the sky at full power. We had to come round again, took 15 min and then landed OK. The pilot explained he had been given the alert 'Traffic, Traffic' meaning danger of collision with another plane and then told to abort landing, suggesting there was a plane on our runway ahead! Well they are having problems with ATC at Gatwick! This flight took about 2 hours 45 min so it was now 16:30 BST (18:30, Riga time). Everything else at Gatwick was smooth: passport, baggage, and the railway station is nicely integrated. But the trains were in chaos. Eventually caught a train running 30 min late to St Pancras on Thameslink; it went so slowly and was packed. Got to KGX at 18:40, nicely in time for the 19:00 to NCL and I bought an advance single. Well there had been a knife attack at Hadley, which had brought all rail traffic to a stop, including many cancellations. Eventually we boarded at 19:10, left at 19:20 and got later and later, getting into NCL at 23:30, 1 hour 40 min late. Had to join a taxi queue as lots of people missed their last services; eventually got going and back home at 00:30, cost £80 including tip. Taxi driver revived my spirits a lot; he was a Serb (living in UK for 20 years), fascinated with my trip to SE Europe, and reminded me of my late father in law Hans Makosch; laughing a little at the English but enjoying his life here. So time for travel was from 02:40 BUS (BST+3) to HEX at 00:30, that's 24 hours 50 min! Had had a lot of naps on the way so not that sleepy, indeed got up at 08:30 the next morning. Trip has been marvellous: such an interesting country and culture, and of course it has the fantastic Batumi raptor bottleneck.

Provisional list for Georgia 24/8-12/9: 90 of 90 species from 246 records, 22 complete lists, 27 places with 17 species of raptor and 6 of gull.

Revised by 23/05/24 to: 94 of 94 species from 262 records, 22 complete lists, 27 places with 19 species of raptor and 6 of gull.

September 12th: maximum 22C, minimum 17C, light SW, sunny intervals in morning, becoming cloudier in afternoon with very heavy shower at ttime from 15:33, low cloud over mountains throughout and poor visibility there. Another great day for raptor migration along the coast (1,200+) as seen from the apartment balcony with a number of kettles and long glides; added two more raptor-types during the day. It appears they’re checking in at Riga on outward bound leg so cautiously optimistic; have taxi for 02:50 (23:50 BST) to take me to the Airport (BUS), take-off 05:30 and hope to get a taxi from NCL railway station to HEX at 22:00, arriving 22:45 BST, that’s 23 hours travel with time zone differences.

Watch from apartment in Batumi City Centre was from 12:10-17:10. The first burst of migrants was noted from 12:40-12:55 with c460 noted passing to E, moving S 1  2  3, comprising 280 Black Kite, 180 Honey-buzzard, 1 Lesser Spotted Eagle, with 4 White-fronted Goose S 1, a male Sparrowhawk flying low in hunting model at 12:50 and a Hawfinch and a Song Thrush flying into local bushes; the raptors were kettling S over edge of overcast mountains using thermals generated on the coast. From 13:05-14:11 had 10 Sand Martin S, 1 Swallow S, 1 LBBG fuscus juvenile S. Around 14:40 with heavy clouds over mountains but clearer on coast 1  2 had 22 Black Kite, 11 Honey-buzzard, 5 Steppe Buzzard and 2 Montagu's Harrier ringtails moving S 1  2. From 14:50-15:03 had 131 Black Kite and 60 Honey-buzzard gliding S, possibly using orographic lift but more likely at the end of their soar-glide mode of operation 1  2  3  4, plus 6 Sand Martin and a Swallow S. Passage picked up as the weather deteriorated. From 15:06-15:24 370 Black Kite and 110 Honey-buzzard were kettling to S, with 5 Booted Eagle, 2 Lesser Spotted Eagle, 1 Montagu's Harrier ringtail 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12 plus 5 Bee-eater. Raptor passage then came to a halt with just one Booted Eagle seen diving out of the sky at 15:30 as rain started in earnest at 15:33. Crude raptor passage totals were 803 Black Kite (rounded 810), 361 Honey-buzzard (rounded 370), 6 Booted Eagle, 5 Steppe Buzzard, 3 Lesser Spotted Eagle, 3 Montagu's Harrier ringtails. Passage of non-raptors S after 15:24 comprised 29 Sand Martin, 7 Swallow, 2 Bee-eater. Other birds noted during day were 150 Caspian Gull S, 2 Hooded Crow, 3 Feral Pigeon, 4 House Sparrow, in total of 17 types. Another great day!

Below are the reports from the two Batumi count centres for 12/9/2023:

Batumi - Sakhalvasho
Tuesday 12 September 2023 Migration Count Data — Batumi Raptor Count

September 11th: maximum 23C, minimum 18C, light SW, sunny morning, more cloud later, dry. Another walk along the prom from 16:00-19:30. This time added 2 species to the list: a Water Pipit flying along the pebble beach and a Common Rosefinch female/juvenile 1 perched on a structure near the shore. Also had 6 Feral Pigeon, 5 Hooded Crow, 8 House Sparrow and 29 Caspian Gull. The Georgians are a very attractive lot, with obvious influence from Iran, Russia and Turkey. Did a lot of work on the Festival website, partly to do something constructive against the worries of the travel situation and a need to beautify the world!

BirdTrack running total up to today: 85 of 85 species from 229 records, 21 complete lists, 27 places. 4 dove, 1 wader, 6 gull, 2 tern, 5 heron, 15 raptor, 2 woodpecker, 3 lark, 3 pipit, 2 shrike, 4 crow, 4 hirundine, 4 warbler, 2 nuthatch, 3 finch.

September 10th: maximum 23C, minimum 17C, light SW, cool and misty start but afternoon and evening sunny and warm, dry throughout. Have presented full account of yesterday’s major movement on the Black Sea coast. Spent much of today sorting out various issues with late return, such as dentist appointment, Rotary admin, automatic prescriptions, booking alternative flight from Riga, to London, also with Air Baltic, so covered if they fail to deliver from Batumi, looking at train travel from Gatwick to Newcastle, etc. Long shot if flight again cancelled on Wednesday is cancelling whole return trip with Air Baltic, securing refunds and going back via Istanbul or Dubai. Had stroll on the Prom from 16:10-18:30 seeing a few birds: 1 Osprey, floating S fairly high-up over sea 1, 8 Hooded Crow, 19 Feral Pigeon, 15 House Sparrow, 1 Bee-eater, 27 Caspian Gull. Took some piccies of Batumi towers 1, pier 2  3, looking out to sea to N 4  5. Of more relevance to the raptors took shots of the area to the NE with Botanical Gardens and Sakhalvasho 6  7, and of hills to E 8 and SE 9 (latter with Osprey high up) which pass near in poor weather. From the flat at 08:00 had 10 Swallow S and 5 Bee-eater around as legacy from yesterday’s marvellous action.

September 9th: maximum 24C, minimum 19C, moderate SW, continued from dawn with incredibly heavy rain in bursts (1 clip, example at 13:27) from swirling clouds of all hues (view to SE 15:04 2) easing from 16:00, becoming dry but still with swirling cloud cover, moving a little higher. A most amazing day raptor-wise: report below. Monsoon continues and it’s a fantastic day for coastal passage, right over my balcony, confirming one of my long-held Honey-buzzard migration hypotheses. Flight back cancelled by airline Air Baltic – rearranged 3 days later.

Raptor passage over the coast to E was first noted at 13:43 with an Osprey S in isolation at 13:22 1 and a lone dark-phase Honey-buzzard juvenile flying over my apartment onto the seafront at 13:37 (13525, 1); quite likely this bird is locally bred starting out its journey with limited sense of direction. Main movement began at 15:04 with 20 Honey-buzzard (unageable) kettling to E 2; 120 raptors kettling to E at 15:19 3, going into a glide 4  5  6; this passage comprising 109 Honey-buzzard (mainly juvenile, 80% with a few adults on top of kettle, juveniles below), 6 Osprey (low-down in the large kettle), 2 Black Kite, 2 Montagu’s Harrier, 1 Hobby. From 15:19-15:21 had a glide 7  8  9  10, followed by a kettle forming 11  12 with birds gliding into the bottom of the kettle 13  14; this passage comprising 243 Honey-buzzard (80% juv, adults on top), 40 Black Kite, 5 Osprey (low-down), 1 Lesser Spotted Eagle. From 15:21-15:25 had continued glide totalling 132 Honey-buzzard (80% juv, adults on top), 42 Montagu’s Harrier, 13 Black Kite. 1 Booted Eagle, 1 Osprey, 1 Marsh Harrier 15  16  17  18. From 15:25-15:26 had continued glide totalling 66 Honey-buzzard (80% juv, adults on top), 7 Montagu’s Harrier, 4 Osprey (low-down), 2 Hen Harrier (adult male), 1 Lesser Spotted Eagle 19. Another kettle formed at 15:26 totalling 570 Black Kite, 380 Honey-buzzard (80% juv), 18 Montagu’s Harrier 18, Osprey 2 20  21  22  23  24  25. This was followed by a glide at 15:27 with Black Kite very much predominating now: 443 Black Kite, 78 Honey-buzzard (90% juv), 25 Montagu’s Harrier, 3 Osprey, 1 Hen Harrier adult male 26  27  28  29  30. A large kettle of mainly Black Kite then rapidly built from 15:28-15:30 comprising 1,209 Black Kite, 112 Honey-buzzard (90% juvenile), 25 Steppe Buzzard, 22 Montagu’s Harrier, and single Lesser Spotted Eagle, Hen Harrier ringtail and Steppe Eagle 31  32  33  34  35  36  37  38  39  40. A single juvenile Honey-buzzard flew SW close to hotel at 15:31 41  42  43  44 (13526) with 3 other juvenile Honey-buzzard in distance. From 15:31-15:33 72 nearly-all juvenile Honey-buzzard glided S with 10 Black Kite and 2 Steppe Buzzard 45  46. From 15:4-15:35 9 Honey-buzzard (8 juvenile 47  48  49  50   51 (13527, 13529-13532), 1 adult male 52 (13528)) and 4 Black Kite 53  54  55, all moved SW close to my apartment. From 15:36-15:39, 14 Honey-buzzard juvenile (13533-13536, 55  56  57  58  59) and 5 Black Kite 60  61  62 flew SW close to apartment. moving to the seafront of Batumi. There was then a break until 2 Osprey S with a Steppe Buzzard at 16:19 63. A lone Pallid Harrier adult male was seen at 18:22 64.

Grand total of raptors during day was: Black Kite 2,296 (a big rush from 15:26-15:30), Honey-buzzard 1,236 (mainly from 15:19-15:39, 80% juvenile), Montagu’s Harrier 116 (doubtless including some Pallid Harrier and other harriers), Steppe Buzzard 28 (main passing at 15:30), Osprey 24 (steady passage, low-down), Hen Harrier 4, Lesser Spotted Eagle 3, and single Booted Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Pallid Harrier, Hobby. Grand total 3,712 raptors of 12 types.

The kettling was not in thermals but in response to orographic lift from the moderate onshore wind. Lengthy glides interspersed the kettles. The birds were passing along the coast to the E of Batumi city centre and then continued coasting to the S. A few raptors moved SW crossing onto Batumi seafront. So in foul weather with onshore winds, a significant part of the movement had moved to the coast: they hadn’t crossed the Black Sea, they were coasting to avoid poor visibility inland. The movement may have been underestimated. I kept a watch from 12:50-18:50 but there could have been earlier movements and the poor visibility made it difficult to be sure birds had not passed undetected.

Many other migrants were seen to S: total of about 400 Caspian Gull (continuous, mainly juveniles, estimated total), 4 LBBG fuscus (2 ad 1  2, 2 juv, singles), 54 Grey Heron (one flock 14:02 1  2  3  4  5  6), 6 Night Heron (1 group, rested around apartment blocks for a little while, 16:30, 1  2  3  4  5  6  7), 1 Woodlark (13:43), 1 Meadow Pipit (16:07). The most conspicuous birds though were the Hirundines: 3,300 Sand Martin (continuous 1  2  3), 300 Swallow (mainly later in afternoon), 70 House Martin (one late burst at 17:26), 1 Pallid Swift at 14:55 1, 3 Alpine Swift, plus Bee-eater, throughout, total 170 with some landing on trees and wires in the city 1  2  3  4  5  6  7. The regulars, Hooded Crow, House Sparrow and Feral Pigeon, remained visible. So an amazing day. Total of 27 bird-types.

Below are the reports from the two Batumi count centres for 9/9/2023:

Batumi - Sakhalvasho
Saturday 9 September 2023 Migration Count Data — Batumi Raptor Count

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BirdTrack running total up to today: 83 of 83 species from 215 records, 19 complete lists, 27 places. 4 dove, 1 wader, 6 gull, 2 tern, 5 heron, 15 raptor, 2 woodpecker, 3 lark, 2 pipit, 2 shrike, 4 crow, 4 hirundine, 4 warbler, 2 nuthatch. Note the fantastic 15 types of raptor!

September 8th: maximum 26C, minimum 22C, light S, glimpses of sun in morning but monsoon continued with very heavy conditions, multiple layers of swirling cloud and mist in almost calm conditions, light rain early afternoon becoming torrential by tea time, drier evening. Had 4 Sand Martin feeding at a river and an adult Cormorant on the sea at 13:20 at Batumi NE. Made Sakhalvasho from 13:30-17:00. Very little raptor migration today, though did have one kettle of 70 Honey-buzzard, 5 Black Kite, plus 2 Booted Eagle 1, setting off from a mountain to the N in a brighter interlude at 14:25 but not sure where glide took them as lost to sight. Some Montagu’s Harrier ringtails were fairly regular (total 5: 1 14:15, 2 15:00, 1 15:44, 1 15:50) plus a male at 15:00, neatly climbing just over the ridge and disappearing to S 1  2  3  4  5  6  7. A Montagu’s Harrier male was flying along the ridge at 15:57. Also had good numbers of Bee-eater (137) 1  2  3  4  5, some Roller (20), many Swallow (4 local, 14 S) and Sand Martin (49 S), and some Turtle Dove. (4 S at 14:20). Had further interesting records of Honey-buzzard: a male out on own over hillside to N at 14:37 and 14:47 in territorial flight and at 14:51 entering into display mode with diving and rearing and looking below as if young present 1  2  3  4  5  6 with habitat 7  8 (13520); at 16:12 2 dark Honey-buzzard (presumed female) were flushed off the road I was walking back down on in an area of dense vegetation; they flew off silently sidewise together keeping a very low profile. In quieter raptor passage, picked out more in the way of other birds, seeing 3 Chiffchaff, a Mountain Chiffchaff (singing), a Collared Flycatcher fem/juv perched in tree 1, 1 Blue Tit, 5 Great Tit 1, 5 Chaffinch, 1 White Wagtail, 7 Hooded Crow, 1 Jay. Total for trip was 18 bird-species with a dragonfly photographed 1. Here’s piccies of raptor migration station 1  2, an alternative station 3, a nearby wood 4  5, swirling cloud 6, hill-top 7, view to Botanical Gardens 8, to N and coast 9, to NE 10.

BirdTrack running total up to today: 78 of 78 species from 198 records, 18 complete lists, 27 places. 4 dove, 1 wader, 6 gull, 2 tern, 4 heron, 13 raptor, 2 woodpecker, 2 shrike, 4 crow, 4 hirundine, 4 warbler, 2 nuthatch.

September 7th: maximum 26C, minimum 22C, light SW, sunny morning, dull afternoon, turning into heavy rain (cloudburst) by early evening. Took it easy today as weather deteriorated. Finally took the plunge to walk to the seafront 1  2  3  4, light rain started shortly afterwards and then there was a cloudburst while at furthest point, so soaked! Did have a White Wagtail on the beach before the heavens opened. Had dinner at a Trattoria, very tasty, just 90 GEL for 2 courses and some drinks.

BirdTrack running total up to today: 74 of 74 species from 178 records, 17 complete lists, 27 places. 4 dove, 1 wader, 6 gull, 2 tern, 4 heron, 13 raptor, 2 woodpecker, 2 shrike, 4 crow, 4 hirundine, 1 warbler, 2 nuthatch.

September 6th: maximum 27C, minimum 23C, light W, sunny all day with some cloud on mountains. Made Sakhalvasho from 14:45-17:20 in another fantastic day in the Batumi Raptor official count area with almost 100k Honey-buzzard noted across the wider area. When arrived they were everywhere, coming in low-down at the end of the glide phase and then immediately forming a kettle to keep their movement going; I counted 3,200. Black Kite numbers increased to 300 and also saw Booted Eagle (4), Pallid Harrier male (1), Montagu’s Harrier ringtail (6), Bee-eater (60), Black Stork (1), Peregrine adult female and another (2), Turtle Dove. (1). Had a few beers and supper in evening in a bar popular with the Russian contingent, spent 50 GEL! Will add totals later. Taking a rest tomorrow after 4 solid afternoons out in the field, back out there on Friday, going to have a rest on the seafront. Here’s some piccies of the area around the Batumi count 1  2  3  4  5  6.

My complete BirdTrack entries (18 bird species) at Sakhalvasho today (all moving S) with additional piccies and commentary:

1 Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur): 1 S at 16:20

1 Black Stork (Ciconia nigra): mixed up with a flock of Honey-buzzard at 15:34

3200 Honey-buzzard (Pernis apivorus): A few juvenile were picked up in the piccies, looking less streamlined than the adults, but keeping up with them; maybe 50 overall. Counts were 1380 14:45-15:15, 1125 15:15-15:45, 450 15:45-16:15, 235 1615-16:45, 20 16:45-end. On arrival the birds were low-down over the Counting Station at the bottom of their glide; they immediately set upon finding a thermal (to form a kettle), no time wasted. There was no hesitancy in direction at any point. Towards the end though a few birds were flying low with less impetus, clearly looking for a resting place for the night. A stream at 14:46 1  2 became a kettle from 14:47-14:48 3  4  5  6 with new kettles forming from 14:52-14:54 7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14 and at 15:03 15. Many singles and small groups were flying low during this period, sometimes including a few Black Kite 16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26. Another kettle formed from 15:04-15:06 27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35 with a few birds low-down 36  37. From 15:08-15:12 more birds were seen low-down 38  39  40  41 with another kettle building from 15:11-15:19 42  43  44  45  46  47  48  49  50  51  52  53. From 15:34-15:44 had 2 low-flying female 54  55. At 15:48 a juvenile passed 56 with others at 16:05 57 and 16:18 58.

4 Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus): 2 as singles on edge of main flocks; 2 took off from wood to N and then joined raptor stream from 15:58-16:00, one light 1  2  3  4  5, the other dark 6  7. The dark one lingered until 16:04 8  9.

1 Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus): 1 on its own at 15:30 1.

1 Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus): in the main Honey-buzzard stream at 15:27.

1 Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus): a ringtail on its own at 15:26 1.

1 Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus): 1 adult male S with Honey-buzzard at 15:27

6 Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus): 6 ringtail small harrier S at 16:03-16:04 in middle of Honey-buzzard/Black Kite flock 1  2  3  4  5  6 and with Booted Eagle at 16:03 7.

300 Black Kite (Milvus migrans): mainly seen later in the afternoon when kettles formed mainly of this species; again a number were flying lower than the main Honey-buzzard stream. About 50% were juveniles, so 150 of each phase. Some early low-flyers were seen from 14:46-14:47 and at 15:03 1  2  3  4  5  6  7. Further low-flyers were seen at 15:04 and 15:08 8  9. A juvenile was seen at 15:12 10  11  12. Another juvenile was seen low-down at 15:15 13. From 15:34-15:44 had a succession of low-flying adult 13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20 and juvenile 21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  38. At 15:47 two juvenile passed 39  40 with another at 16:04 41  42. An adult was seen at 16:05 43. Black Kite kettles occurred from 16:05-16:20 44  45  46  47  48  49 with juveniles seen from 16:06-16:40 50  51  52  53  54  55  56  57.

60 Bee-eater (Merops apiaster): one flock of 30 landed all around me, catching insects, before resuming journey 1  2  3  4  5  6  7.

1 Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax): one S at 16:07 1  2.

2 Peregrine (Falco peregrinus): at 15:27, adult female appeared for a moment under the raptor stream. Another was seen at 15:15 fringing a kettle of Honey-buzzard 49.

Also noted: 2 Magpie, 11 Swallow, 1 House Martin, 1 Blackcap, 1 Blackbird.

September 5th: maximum 28C, minimum 24C, light SW, sunny all day with some cloud on mountains. Had Khachapuri for breakfast at local cafe, that’s a classical Georgian dish with bread made in various shapes with cheese lining and optional poached egg in middle, which I had. So set up with that made Batumi Raptor Count at Sakhalvasho seeing an incredible 4,800 Honey-buzzard pass S in 2 hours – official total for whole day here was an amazing 41055 (see https://www.batumiraptorcount.org/data), the pride of Russia, moving to Africa for the winter. Got many photos of the flocks and singles. Also saw personally 70 Black Kite, 4 Booted Eagle, 1 Marsh Harrier, plus a Krüper’s Nuthatch, a Blackcap. Fantastic day!

My BirdTrack entries at Sakhalvasho today (the W extreme of the migrant stream, all moving S) with additional piccies and commentary:

4,800 Honey-buzzard (Pernis apivorus): all adult as far as could see; typical kettle and glide strategy, the kettle used for soaring on a thermal and the glide to make economical use of the height gained; c1500 from 14:30-15:00; c700 from 15:00-15:30; c1300 from 15:30-16:00; c1300 from 16:00-16:29 when stream seemed to slow markedly. In more detail, birds were streaming in towards the hillside from 14:23-14:30 1  2  3  4  5, forming a kettle at 14:31 6 with full kettle here at 14:31 7  8, with temporary gap at 14:38-14:39 9  10. Another kettle formed from 14:40-14:44 12  13  14  15  16  17. Another stream came in from 15:02-15:04 18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25, forming a kettle from 15:08-15:16 26  27  28  29. Another stream formed from 12:17-12:21 30  31  32, with a female seen well at 12:16 and 12:22 33  34  35  36  37. This led to a kettle from 12:28-12:34 38  39  40  41, with a female and male seen well at 12:37 43  44. Another stream formed from 12:36-12:40 42  45  46  47  48. Small parties were noted low-down from 12:41-12:43 49  50  51  52. A stream formed from 12:43-12:46 53  54  55  56  57 and from 12:54-12:55 57a  57b  57c. A male was seen at 12:50 and 12:55 57d  57e  58. The next kettle was from 12:56-12:58 60  61  62  63  64  65. Other small groups were seen from 12:58-13:01 66  67  68  69. A stream was seen from 12:59-13:01 69a  70  71  72  73  74  75 and a kettle at 13:17 76  77.

4 Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus): flying singly, slightly below in altitude the main Honey-buzzard stream 1  2  3.

1 Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)

70 Black Kite (Milvus migrans): mixture of adult and juvenile; tended to fly lower altitude below the Honey-buzzard flocks; 6 projecting primary tips on juveniles. A few juvenile and adult were noted low-down from 12:49-12:50 1  2  3  4.

6 Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)

The signage at the roadside is here 1  2  3.

Summary to today: 67 of 67 species from 156 records, 15 complete lists, 26 places. 3 dove, 1 wader, 6 gull, 1 tern, 4 heron, 11 raptor, 2 woodpecker, 2 shrike, 4 crow, 3 hirundine, 1 warbler, 2 nuthatch

September 4th: maximum 28C, minimum 23C, light SW, cloudy but dry morning, sunny afternoon and evening. Again made Batumi Botanical Gardens 1  2 with its plan 3, from 13:20-18:00: it’s a beautiful setting, giving great views over the sea and the surrounding hills, with plenty of flowers and some enormous trees. Had very close-up views of a Honey-buzzard adult female at 15:52, coming down into the trees for the night 1; roosting area is shown here 2  3 (13515). At 14:50 had a Hobby adult female flying S over the hill low-down. Main find of day was 6 Krüper's Nuthatch in an old tall tree: a new species for me; this one is only found in Turkey and the Caucasus. Also had a few more Bee-eater in the trees and added Sand Martin, Greenfinch, Goldcrest and Common Redstart to the list. Other migrants included 17 Swallow S, 2 House Martin S. Went out for good meal in the evening. Butterflies comprised a Large White, a Southern Small White 1  2, a Long-tailed Blue 1, a Short-tailed Blue 1. Settled in well to the lively city of Batumi!

BirdTrack up to 2/9 now complete: 52 of 52 species from 113 records, 12 complete lists, 24 places. 3 dove, 1 wader, 6 gull, 1 tern, 4 heron, 6 raptor, 2 woodpecker, 2 shrike, 4 crow, 3 hirundine, 1 warbler, 2 nuthatch

September 3rd: maximum 29C, minimum 24C, light W, a wet day, heavy rain in morning and evening, afternoon was dry and muggy, hardly any sun. Did make the Batumi Botanical Gardens 1  2  3  4  5  6 with its plan 7 from 14:00-17:30 just as the rain finished and a pause set in. Had good views to the coast to the N 1  2  3, of large boats waiting to go N 1  2, of land far to N 1  2, of mountain to NE 1, of a Caspian Gull adult on the shore 1, and of the towers to S 1. The Honey-buzzard were very impatient and some had obviously been force-landed into the ample large trees in the Gardens, driving the Hooded Crow mad. Had 9 Honey-buzzard appearing over the top of the Gardens (1 14:38, 1 14:47, 6 14:58, 1 15:09), the singles in the lower levels of the mist gliding S 1  2  3  4  5  6  7 (13505), the 4 (out of 6) going higher from local trees, quite full of energy, even a few dives at each other 8  9  10  11 (13503). Cannot discount that these 4 are breeding birds, as 2 birds below altitude-wise look like sibling juveniles so treating them this way. Also had a ringtail Hen Harrier moving S low-down over the trees at 14:42 and an adult male Peregrine briefly circling over top of Gardens at 15:34. Then all went quiet raptor-wise. Other migrants were Bee-eater (few calling), Swallow (11 S) and Tree Pipit (group 5 S). Residents added to list were 1 Wren, 1 Robin, plus a Jay heard and 2 Chaffinch seen. Butterflies comprised 2 Small White, 1 Southern Small White 1 and a Tree Grayling. A European Hornet 1  2 was around an ivy bush. The Gardens are good exercise, moderately steep ascents. Had a Ring-necked Parakeet in Batumi near my apartment. Used Bolt for taxis to do the 8km to the Gardens – cost c14 GEL each way plus 20 GEL admission, giving cost for trip of £15. In evening made Tavioli for tuna salad, cheesecake, 2 glasses rw, coffee, all for 88 GEL (£23).

Quick check on trip total up to 2/9: 46 of 46 species from 97 records, 11 complete lists, 23 places. Still excludes Tbilisi Botanical Gardens, but about to do that so fuller update tomorrow.

September 2nd: maximum 30C, minimum 25C, light E, hot, dry. with sunshine all day, some murk over mountains. Visited the beach area early afternoon getting some interesting sightings: a Honey-buzzard adult at 15:13 floating very high-up over Batumi moving S; in the park 1  2 a Mute Swan adult and 2 Ruddy Shelduck 1, a Swallow, another Shag ad, and 2 Yelkouan Shearwater, far out to sea. We had early meal at a Pizza place Brioche – massive modern place. Son leaves at 02:50 tomorrow morning flying with Air Baltic to Riga from Batumi and then onto Gatwick in afternoon – I’ll be around to help with any last minute problems in getting away from the flat. It’s been a great holiday together! I’m planning to make the Botanical Gardens tomorrow, near the raptor flyway.

September 1st: maximum 30C, minimum 24C, light W, hot, dry. with sunshine all day, some high cloud over coast, some murk over mountains. Decided to walk the prom today, making the immediate beach 700m away 1  2  3  4  5  6  7 past the casino 8 and then going N to the tip of the prom 9 with its wire models 10. The towers 11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20 are rather like Dubai! All very exhilarating! Two large ships offshore 21 (container, bulk carrier) may have been waiting for clearance to go further N in the Black Sea towards the war zone. The pier is a good lookout site for coasting seabirds 22. Met son half-way through: he’s been for a dip in the Black Sea and hired a bike. In the evening we went for last dinner together at the Old Boulevard, a marvellous Georgian restaurant with live music (violin, guitar, piano). We had 3 courses there, I had lovely local red wine and coffee. Cost was 203 GEL (£61); in London would have cost over £200. Earlier I used the numerous beach cafes to keep hydrated and fed, on ice cream and fizz, like a kid! Had 1st Shag (ad 1  2  3 ) and 4 Cormorant (3 ad 1  2  3  4, 1 juv) plus numerous gulls, nearly all Caspian 1 but certainly one Med YLG juvenile 2  3  4 and maybe others to look for in many piccies taken of trawler with numerous gulls around it: yes indeed, added LBBG juv fuscus and 3 Mediterranean Gull adult 5  6 plus another Med YLG juvenile. Had a Ruddy Shelduck in a park 1 don’t think it’s wild! A dead Caspian Gull adult there 7 may well have been a recent victim of avian flu.

Running total for Georgia trip: 40 of 40 species from 85 records, 9 complete lists, 21 places. From BirdTrack. Still to add: 27/8 Botanical Gardens, Tbilisi; 30/8 some records from canyon trip from Kutaisi. Total of 40 types so far includes: 3 doves, 1 wader, 6 gulls, 1 tern, 3 herons, 4 raptors, 2 shrikes, 3 hirundines.

August 31st: maximum 32C, minimum 24C, light W, hot, dry. with sunshine all day. Up early and took some more piccies of the local gulls: on stones on the River Rioni, soon after dawn, 29 Caspian Gull 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19 (22 ad, 4 2s, 3 juv). Now in the hedonistic second city of Georgia, Batumi, set on the Black Sea and with a long tradition of being a favourite for Russian visitors. Train journey was smooth (1 hour 40 min), catching train via taxi (50GEL) from Kutaisi Airport Railway Station. Had a Bimaculated Lark (new species) and 15 Hooded Crow near the Station with 3 Starling near Japana. Took taxi from Railway Station to our premium apartment, where greeted by L, who showed us how to get in and out and took our money 3250 GEL (c£1k), including 100 deposit for breakages. I looked at the local birds in the afternoon from our balcony: 3 Hooded Crow, 1 Swallow, 1 Chaffinch, 13 House Sparrow, 4 Feral Pigeon, plus masses of Caspian Gull 121 (65 ad, 14 2s, 42 juvenile). We had dinner at a Trattoria nearby, with menu in Georgian, English and Russian. Then went for stroll along the harbour front and the new dramatic tall buildings, making it look a bit like a mini-Dubai! All very impressive: going to enjoy the city while son is here, before exploring the raptor route for my further stay. Have updated the Festival web site for contact details, improving the maintainability by having a single file which is accessed by all the pages.

August 30th: maximum 33C, minimum 24C, light E, much hotter today, dry. with sunshine all day. Feeling a lot brighter and we went on long private day trip, first to Gelati Museum 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12, where son went yesterday. This was founded in 1106 by King David IV of Georgia as a monastic and educational centre so very venerable! The hill around looked good habitat for raptors 1  2  3  4 with 4 showing a Griffon Vulture floating by. Next onto a series of scenic points before making Martvili canyon, where we were transferred to a jeep for final move to the canyon, where we had lunch and a stroll. Highlight of day was the Caves of Prometheus 1  2  3  4 where we walked over a km through a cave system, before getting a boat though an underwater inlet to the outside again: very spectacular. The canyon was spectacular with a rickety bridge over a river visited first 1  2  3  4  5 and then the canyon itself 6  7  8  9  10  12  13  14  15  16  17. We finished with the Wine Monastery 1  2  3 at Martvili Municipality and had the glimpse of a Kutaisi parliament building 1. A good day out: 10 hours in all, cost 230 GEL to driver, 150 GEL for jeep and 80 GEL for lunch, plus a few extras for admission, so total cost £130. Birds included a spectacular Black Vulture foraging from high-up to low-down at Dzedzileti n the canyon 1  2  3, Long-legged Buzzard (2 birds, an adult and juvenile in display, at Martvili 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10), a Steppe Buzzard (agitated at another site), a Raven, 2 lots of migrating Bee-eater 1  2  3 totalling 18 birds, a Black Redstart, a Short-toed Lark, 2 Chaffinch, a Grey Wagtail, 2 Black Kite, one moving S over the canyon at Dzedzileti with another in territory 1  2. At breakfast at Kutaisi hotel on River Rioni 1  2 had 38 Caspian Gull on stones on river 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 (34 ad, 2 2s, 2 juv) and at 09:20 a Short-toed Eagle ad moving S at moderate altitude. 2moro it’s Batumi by the seaside!

August 29th: maximum 28C, minimum 20C, light E, violent thunderstorm at breakfast time, heavy rain, short power cut, then cloudy, but becoming brighter as day wore on. Not a lot done today; son went off on private trip to Gelati Monastery, dating from 11th century. I stayed local, seeing a sign to the local University 1, feeling a little fragile. Feeling brighter by evening and caught up with most of bird records in Georgia to date. Had an Ortolan Bunting on wires over the river 1.

August 28th: maximum 30C, minimum 20C, light NE, sunny all day, dry. Took 3 hours 40 mins train journey departing 08:40 from Tbilisi to Kutaisi, where booked into the Sanapiro Hotel by the River Rioni, a distance of 180km. We then got a local bus into the bus station at Kutaisi and then a taxi to our hotel. My room is overlooking the river so that’s quite a bonus: it’s the longest river in Georgia, draining the whole western Transcaucasus into the Black Sea. Train tickets are cheap even for business class, which we enjoyed. We had late lunch at the Museum Bar, which I’d recommend.: quite arty, big menu, plenty of fresh food, not expensive. The train route was very scenic in the middle, crossing well-wooded hills and quite steep inclines. Not feeling so good in the evening, but fortunately had stocked up with Imodium at DUS. First stop was Gori, birthplace of Joseph Stalin, with several statues intended, not sure of current status. Birds from train included a Kestrel (juvenile) and a Lesser Grey Shrike at Tbilisi N at 08:50; a Red-backed Shrike at Kvakhvreli at 09:35; 6 Cattle Egret at Shida Kartli at 09:45; a Grey Wagtail at Shorapani at 11:38; 10 Mistle Thrush at Zestafoni at 11:44; all recorded directly on mobile phone using GPS tracking from BirdTrack. By the river at Kutaisi, from our hotel, around 14:00-16:00 had 18 Caspian Gull 1  2  3  4  5  6  7 (16 ad, 2 juv), 4 Hooded Crow 1, a Common Sandpiper and 3 Feral Pigeon.

August 27th: maximum 26C, minimum 20C, light NE, hazy sunshine all day, shower in evening. Made Tbilisi Botanical Gardens 1  2  3  4 today from 11:50-17:00 – such gardens used to be common in England but not any more. This one is very special with enormous range of plants 5  6  7, a cliff 8 and a waterfall 9  10. The city was visible from the gardens 1, the Kartlis Deda 2 was nearby as was the craggy Narikala 3  4  5  6  7. The enormous range and numbers of insects suggests that they don’t overuse pesticides and herbicides: butterflies were everywhere on their flower beds. Species were perhaps typical for southern England with 10 in all: 12 Silver-washed Fritillary 1  2  3  4  5  6  7, 10 Small White 1  2  3  4, 8 Common Blue 1  2  3  4  5, 5 Large White 1  2, 5 Meadow Brown 1  2  3, 2 Clouded Yellow, 2 Painted Lady 1  2 plus continental types: 1 Olive Skipper 1  2, 1 Tree Grayling, 1 Eastern Bath White 1, and moths 6 Humming-bird Hawk-moth 1  2  3, 1 Burnet Companion 1. Also saw the menacing looking Oriental Hornets 1  2  3  4  5  6, 3 Carpenter Bee 1  2, a bumble bee 1 and some blotches on horse chestnut of Cameraria ohridella 1. The lily pond 1  2 had a large frog 1  2. Had 2 raptors in the air together: a female adult Honey-buzzard 1  2  3  4  5 (13500) above a juvenile Steppe Buzzard at 14:20 6  7  8  9. A few Steppe Buzzard, maybe 3 birds in a family group, were in the trees on the edge of the Gardens, calling from time to time, 4 birds recorded in total. Three small parties of Bee-eater (5,15, 5, total 25) moved S. Also had 19 Woodpigeon, a male Middle Spotted Woodpecker (seen close-up on tree 1  2), 2 Green Woodpecker (both yaffling), 3 Jay (seen and heard), 5 Hooded Crow, 1 Raven (heard), 4 Blue Tit, 2 Great Tit, 3 Crag Martin, 4 Blackbird (including 2 ad, 2 juv) 1  2, 1 Dunnock, 2 Chaffinch, 20 Feral Pigeon, in total of 16 species. A Caucasian Squirrel was the only mammal seen. On the river at 18:00 moving W, a Little Bittern. A small demo was outside the Parliament 1  2. We had dinner in the hotel (130 GEL). Train is at 08:40 tomorrow for Kutaisi.

August 26th: maximum 30C, minimum 20C, moderate NW, sunny all day, no clouds, dry. Exciting trip today to oldest surviving buildings of Orthodox Georgian culture. We organised a driver for $80US to takes us on a half-day excursion. First we made the Jvari Monastery 1  2  3  4  5  6  7 in Mtskheta S, dating from the 6th century, then the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15, dating from the 11th century also in Mtskheta S c9km NW of Tbilisi. They're close together and here's Jvari from Svetitskhoveli 16. We have plenty of piccies and our guide took some of us at each place 1  2. Both buildings were presented very well, looking amazing in view of their age. Our guide was very informative about their history and looked after us well. We gave him a 10% bonus on return. Not what I anticipated but waterbirds were the stars today, particularly where the Kura River splits, giving a few sandbanks 1  2  3  4  5  6. Here from 11:00-12:15 had 3 types of gull – Caspian (much the commonest 1  2, total 47, 41 ad, 6 juv), Armenian (two adults, a new gull species for me, something to celebrate), a Pallas’s juvenile (seen before in Egypt) with piccies here of all 3 types 3  4  5  6, plus 8 Little Egret 1, 1 Cormorant 1, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Grey Heron 1. Had one butterfly, an Eastern Bath White 1, at the Monastery. Driving out of Tbilisi to NW at 10:30 along the river, we had 4 White-winged Black Tern, and many Caspian Gull (29 total, 27 ad, 2 juv), plus a Hooded crow, a Feral Pigeon and a Swallow. Raptors comprised just three birds but very interesting ones: a female Hobby hunting low over the mudflats at Kura River at 11:47 and 2 Honey-buzzard adult coming out of some trees to N of the Cathedral at 12:23 in agitated fashion - looked like a pair in breeding territory; here's some piccies of the wooded hills in the area 1  2  3  4  5  6  7. Also here from 12:15-13:45 had 6 Feral Pigeon, 8 Barn Swallow 1  2, 4 House Martin and 20 House Sparrow. Had siesta on return, getting out again at 16:00 for walk to river where viewed Kartlis Deda 1  2 (with a male juv Hobby passing at 18:00 1), the Cathedral 1 and took many piccies of 12 Caspian Gull (10 ad fly 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15 and float 16  17  18  19  20  21 , 1 2w with 1 juv 21, 2 ad with 1 juv 22) around 16:30; also here had 9 Hooded Crow, 2 Barn Swallow, 1 Laughing Dove 1, 4 Feral Pigeon 1, 6 House Sparrow. Had a couple of beers in a bar and then met son at Cafe Leila, a Georgian vegetarian restaurant in the old town: very tasty food and lovely setting. Russians are everywhere: over 100k young men came here to escape conscription and they are anyway welcomed for their Trans Caucasus trade. In Batumi they are buying up quite a lot of property, as in Dubai, and make up a good proportion of the visitors. Must say they look attractive, the women that is!!

August 25th: maximum 28C, minimum 20C, light N, cloudy, light rain in afternoon. Lazy morning, breakfast at 11:00. We then visited the Georgian National Museum, where a very good biodiversity section showing the extensive wildlife left, including Brown Bear and Spotted Hyena. There was also detailed coverage of Dmanisi, an area of Georgia with archaeological remains from occupation c1.7m years ago, when the lower Caucasus became more humid and warmer and more Africa-like encouraging many animals, including early man, to cross from Africa into the Caucasus. We also spent some time on the floor showing the horrors of the invasions of the Bolsheviks and later Soviets; Georgia lost 5% of its population of 4m to shootings and removals. Here are piccies of Liberty Square 1  2  3  4, King David the Builder 5, Castle 6, Parliament 7, Cathedral 8, Mosque 9  10, Garden of First Republic 11, Thermal Spa 12, stream by Mosque 13, and unascribed 14  15  16  17  18. Did find some birds from 12:00-17:00 in parks or along the main river. Highlight was a Western Rock Nuthatch in a ravine where a stream goes through the town, and a Black Kite high overhead at 16:27, from high-up coming down for the night 1  2  3  4, maybe a migrant.. Also had 12 Caspian Gull (10 ad 1  2  3  4  5  6  7, 2 juv) on the river and 2 Barn Swallow and 16 breeding House Martin in the river area. 4 Laughing Dove were scattered around bits of waste ground 1  2. House Sparrow (30) and Feral Pigeon (16) were the most widespread. So total of 8 types in the city. Walked 10k steps today, son must have done 15k. Had good dinner in Hotel again. There’s a marvellous atmosphere about Georgia as East meets West. Tomorrow we’ve got a drive to a rural monastery in a private taxi and the sun is going to shine.

August 24th: maximum 33C, minimum 22C, light N, sunny, dry. Well I had gentle stroll 2km from Ibis to DUS, complete with suitcase, getting some exercise and avoiding extortionate taxi fares. Added Carrion Crow and 4 Feral Pigeon to list. Caught SkyTrain for final bit into the terminal. Son had a more frantic morning with his EW flight from LHR taking off an hour late. Fortunately there were c20 passengers going to TBS so they held our EW flight for 30 min. The cost of putting up that many disgruntled passengers overnight must have encouraged them to delay our flight. Son fortuitously sitting one seat behind me! He’s brought 2 different guide books so could study one on the plane. There’s masses to do. Flight was 3 hours 40 min, landing just 10 min late. Got taxi into centre (GEL170, £50) and checked into Shota Hotel, very comfortable. Had dinner there (GEL109). We went for a walk around the block. In the Airport area at dusk had a Raven and a Laughing Dove.

August 23rd: maximum 19C, minimum 16C, light SW, sunny, dry. Now in DUS, got taxi from home to NCL; had a Great Spotted Woodpecker flying over the A69 near Horsley; EW had problems checking us in, clearly problems in downloading passenger list so took off 40 min late. Got taxi to Ibis Airport Hotel €25, then dined and watered at Novotel nearby. Hoping to meet son here 2moro before travelling on to TBS. May be a little ambitious! Hope his flight’s not late like mine. Went for walk at dusk, finding 2 Robin and a Blackbird.