⏳ Just 7 days to apply for the Flyway Monitoring Traineeship Spend a month at Batumi Raptor Count, learning hands-on migration monitoring in one of the world’s largest raptor flyways. Fully funded travel + acco. Open to conservationists in OSME region. www.batumiraptorcount.org/flyway-monit... 🪶🦅

BRC Flyway Monitoring Traineeship — Batumi Raptor Count

We are raising \u20AC30,000 to continue our monitoring, conservation and education work in 2026.

batumiraptorcount.org

Our 2026 Flyway Monitoring Traineeship is open for applications from raptor enthusiasts living in the OSME region. Learn all about raptor migration, identification and what it takes to run a count like the BRC, and receive up to €1300 to cover costs. www.batumiraptorcount.org/flyway-monit... 🪶

Call for Counters! Join BRC in Autumn 2026 to witness the magnificent migration of >1 million raptors, improve your ID skills, and contribute to population monitoring! Fees: €10-24/day with discounts available! Read more & apply here: www.batumiraptorcount.org/volunteer-as-raptor-migration-counter

NEW PUBLICATION! Long time coming — now out: the results of our pilot spring raptor counts in Batumi! Read about seasonal contrasts in raptor migration, the eastern Black Sea coast as a principal spring flyway, and much more. 🦅 Paper: doi.org/10.5253/arde... #ornithology @batumiraptorcount.org

Recommended read: our 2025 Autumn Report is out! As part of our tradition and commitment, we’ve compiled a comprehensive overview of the season’s highlights and phenological peculiarities — complemented by many beautiful photos of both birds and people! 👉 batumiraptorcount.org/autumn-report-2025

A typical Batumi migration scene, illustrating the idea of an ‘aerial niche’. For Steppe Buzzards in our bottleneck, that niche is often somewhere between the clouds: great to watch, tricky to count. Fascinating paper by @cnilsson.science et al: doi.org/10.1016/j.tr... 📸 @barthoekstra.bsky.social

Trends in Ecology & Evolution@cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social · 9mo ago

November issue out online now www.cell.com/ecology-evol... We hope you enjoy it! The cover article is by Cecilia Nilsson and colleagues, photo by Bart Hoekstra The penultimate interviews in our Disability series feature John Dennehy and Tara Cronin

It’s a wrap! 🎉 Today marked the final day of #BRC17! What an unforgettable season it’s been: records broken with countless surprises and memories made. All the details will be included in our upcoming autumn report, which will be released soon. Keep an eye on our social media to stay up-to-date.

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! Read more here: www.batumiraptorcount.org/brc17/2025/10/15-million-raptors #ornithology #RaptorResearch

Live from the field! The 1,422,172nd bird — a juvenile Black Kite flying through the misty clouds — crossed our transect line this afternoon, making 2025 the BIGGEST year in BRC history!! Stay tuned for more!

170K raptors! 🤯 8 yrs in the making, but I’ve finally witnessed a 100k+ raptors day while on the station actually counting the bulk of it. Incredible experience. Still feeling cross-eyed from staring through the scope non-stop for almost 10hrs. 📸: the Shuamta team at the end of this incredible day

Batumi Raptor Count@batumiraptorcount.org · 10mo ago

170.000 RAPTORS IN ONE DAY! After yesterday’s heavy rain and a quiet morning, today the sky exploded with Steppe Buzzards and large eagles! Continuing from 10 am until almost the end of the count. At some point, we counted over 14.000 raptors in less than 20 minutes. THAT'S BATUMI! #ornithology

Topteam!!!

Batumi Raptor Count@batumiraptorcount.org · 10mo ago

170.000 RAPTORS IN ONE DAY! After yesterday’s heavy rain and a quiet morning, today the sky exploded with Steppe Buzzards and large eagles! Continuing from 10 am until almost the end of the count. At some point, we counted over 14.000 raptors in less than 20 minutes. THAT'S BATUMI! #ornithology

170.000 RAPTORS IN ONE DAY! After yesterday’s heavy rain and a quiet morning, today the sky exploded with Steppe Buzzards and large eagles! Continuing from 10 am until almost the end of the count. At some point, we counted over 14.000 raptors in less than 20 minutes. THAT'S BATUMI! #ornithology

After the thrill of reaching the million, we went straight to the peak of diversity. The challenge of counting high numbers of birds slowly shifted into identifying the (relatively) fewer but more difficult ones: the large eagle species! But they also brought a special guest along...👇 1/2

A true Bluesky — filled with raptors! After days of rain, we were greeted by a bright, blue, cloudless sky this morning! The result? Thousands of birds and a high species diversity. With the main message: the eagles are coming! Stay tuned for more! For daily totals: www.batumiraptorcount.org/data

Astounding for the @batumiraptorcount.org crew to reach the 1 million milestone so early in the season. 😳 Congrats to all volunteers and flyway trainees, expertly led by the first ever all-women coordinating team: Eva Drukker, Elien Hoekstra and Mitra Daneshvar. Celebrations are in order! 🤩

Batumi Raptor Count@batumiraptorcount.org · 11mo ago

ONE MILLION RAPTORS! The wait is over... Today #BRC17 hit the earliest 1-million mark in BRC history! Usually, this happens around end-September, but this year the raptors clearly had other plans. And with still over a month to go, we expect plenty more to come! 1/2 #ornithology #RaptorResearch

ONE MILLION RAPTORS! The wait is over... Today #BRC17 hit the earliest 1-million mark in BRC history! Usually, this happens around end-September, but this year the raptors clearly had other plans. And with still over a month to go, we expect plenty more to come! 1/2 #ornithology #RaptorResearch

The Honey Buzzards keep on coming! With another 50K+ counted today, we’ve now passed half a million HBs this season! Rising numbers of Black Kites — as their peak is still ahead — pushed our overall total past 700K! And it’s not just the bulk species 👇 #ornithology 📸Eduardo C. Wals 1/2

A new study led by @moveandconserve.bsky.social used GPS tracking to test the monitoring potential of Eilat and Batumi. An invaluable step toward linking counted birds to their origins, but we found it needed some elaboration from a migration count perspective! Our commentary: tinyurl.com/nnbzu7kc

One million raptors: But where do they come from? — Batumi Raptor Count

As a migration counter, you can’t help but wonder: “Where did the bird I just tallied come from, and where is it going?” In light of BRC’s main aim — monitoring raptor population trends — this very ...

tinyurl.com

HALF A MILLION RAPTORS! 🦅 After a few slower days (~30K+), #BRC17 hit the absolute jackpot yesterday! Around 11 am, the floodgates opened — massive streams of Honey Buzzards & Black Kites pushed us past 100K raptors in a single day! Bringing the season total to 540K😍 🧵1/3 Video by Zülfü Farajli

We are off! The #BRC17 count has officially started! Until Oct 21st, we'll be counting 1+ million raptors. 🤞🪶 For the first time in years, we'll be posting many of the posts on our main social media channels to our website — and via our website also here. www.batumiraptorcount.org/brc17/2025/8...

The count has started! — Batumi Raptor Count

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.

batumiraptorcount.org

BRC at the Avian Odyssey 2025! Join the British Ornithologists’ Club at the Natural History Museum, London, on 20 Sept. @tohar-tal.bsky.social will share how BRC monitors and conserves the migration of 1M+ raptors in Georgia. Tickets (incl. online): www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/... 📸Marc Heetkamp

In less than two weeks, we’ll be back at the Batumi bottleneck for the 17th Batumi Raptor Count #BRC17. Preparations are well underway, and excitement is building. Over the next few months, we’ll have plenty of exciting news to share with you — it’s already shaping up to be another memorable season.

Meet our trainees! Motahareh from Iran, Yaren from Turkey and Leyla from Azerbaijan will join us as the 2025 cohort of the Flyway Monitoring Traineeship. We set up this traineeship program with OSME last year. Read more about the program and our trainees: www.batumiraptorcount.org/news/2025/7/...

Flyway Monitoring Trainees of 2025 — Batumi Raptor Count

Last year, we launched the BRC Flyway Monitoring Traineeship , a new initiative developed together with our long-time partner OSME , to support and empower ambitious bird conservationists from acros...

batumiraptorcount.org

Trying to figure out if we are doing what we think we are doing in migratory bird count surveys. Now the blog version: bou.org.uk/blog-efrat-w... @bou.org.uk @batumiraptorcount.org @yaelbird.bsky.social 🪶🐾🧪

Who are we counting? - British Ornithologists' Union

Coupling GPS data and bird count data to improve our understanding of bird migration

bou.org.uk

Time flies! In less than 2 months, we'll be back at the Batumi bottleneck for the 70 best days of the year. From 12/08 to 21/10, we'll be counting >1 million raptors 🦅 again. #BRC17 🪶 We're thrilled that all volunteer positions this year are filled. There's a waiting list for those still dreaming:

Volunteer as Raptor Migration Counter — Batumi Raptor Count

batumiraptorcount.org

Would you like to experience mind-boggling raptor migration by helping us count over 1 million raptors this autumn? Yes? Perfect! Because volunteer slots for both some long-term and plenty of short-term positions of 2 weeks are still available. But, there is more...👇 1/2

Our new Flyway Monitoring Traineeship is open for applications from raptor enthusiasts living in the OSME region. Learn all about raptor migration, identification and what it takes to run a count like the BRC, and receive up to €1300 to cover costs. www.batumiraptorcount.org/news/2025/4/... 🪶

Applications open for the 2025 Flyway Monitoring Traineeship — Batumi Raptor Count

With the preparations for the 2025 Autumn count well underway, we are happy to announce opening applications for the BRC Flyway Monitoring Traineeship . We started this traineeship last year in colla...

batumiraptorcount.org

Are you or do you know someone who would like to count 1+ million raptors with us this autumn? Join us for an absolutely unforgettable experience! We'll be responding to applications around the 15th of the month, so now is the perfect time to apply. #birdmigration #ornithology #raptors #addBirder

Batumi Raptor Count@batumiraptorcount.org · last yr.

Call for Counters! Join BRC in autumn 2025 to witness the magnificent migration of >1 million raptors, improve your ID skills, and contribute to population monitoring! Fees: €10-24/day with discounts available! Read more & apply here: www.batumiraptorcount.org/volunteer-as-raptor-migration-counter

Are you or do you know someone who would like to count 1+ million raptors with us this autumn? Join us for an absolutely unforgettable experience! We'll be responding to applications around the 15th of the month, so now is the perfect time to apply. #birdmigration #ornithology #raptors #addBirder

Batumi Raptor Count@batumiraptorcount.org · last yr.

Call for Counters! Join BRC in autumn 2025 to witness the magnificent migration of >1 million raptors, improve your ID skills, and contribute to population monitoring! Fees: €10-24/day with discounts available! Read more & apply here: www.batumiraptorcount.org/volunteer-as-raptor-migration-counter