The key facts

  • More than a million birds of prey migrate annually through Georgia's Black Sea coast — the third most important raptor migration site in the world
  • Around 9,000 birds die each year from illegal hunting (University of Antwerp estimate, 2013)
  • Batumi Raptor Count's work was at risk of closure this year until an anonymous donation of 15,000 euros saved the autumn count

A Migration Bottleneck of Global Scale

On a hill above Georgia's Black Sea coast, ornithologist Bart Hoekstra of Utrecht University, co-chair of the international volunteer organization Batumi Raptor Count (BRC), watches one of the largest wildlife spectacles in the world. According to him, it is the third most important raptor migration site in the world: 'Wherever you point your binoculars in the sky, there are birds.' The Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains form a migration 'bottleneck' known as the 'Batumi corridor,' through which more than a million raptors from Russia, Eastern Europe and Kazakhstan fly in autumn, heading mostly to Africa after breeding. The birds save energy by soaring in warm air over land and avoiding the sea, while clouds in the Caucasus mountains can push them into the narrow corridor above the coast.

Illegal Hunting

According to a 2013 study by the University of Antwerp — the last reliable estimate — around 9,000 birds die each year from gunshots. Harriers are especially vulnerable, as they often fly low. Count coordinator Mitra Daneshvar from Iran admitted that the gunshots 'break her heart' every time, and it is especially hard when rare species die. Georgia's Department of Environmental Supervision recorded 39 violations of hunting rules in the region during the first month of the current season, without specifying how many of them involved birds of prey. The agency claims to run round-the-clock patrols against illegal hunting, but Hoekstra noted that controlling shooting in the rugged terrain around Batumi is difficult.

How the Count Is Conducted

BRC volunteers count from two stations — in the village of Sakhalvasho above Batumi and in Shuamta, located deeper in the hills. Work begins at dawn: observers with binoculars and telescopes mark every bird crossing an imaginary line with a click of a hand counter. Coordinators divide the bird streams into sections assigned to different observers to avoid double counting. In early autumn, honey buzzards dominate, followed by black kites, common buzzards and lesser spotted eagles. On September 27, Daneshvar counted the millionth raptor of the season.

Ecotourism as Protection

The migration spectacle has become an important source of tourism for poor rural areas. Ruslan Lomadze, owner of a guesthouse in Sakhalvasho where BRC participants stay, said that tourists have 'changed life' in the community: 'There is no other real source of income here. Without birdwatching tourism, the guesthouses and family hotels would have closed.' According to him, hunting is an inherited tradition, but now there is less of it, and ecotourism has had an impact; at the same time, some birdwatchers do not come because they cannot watch birds being killed. Hunters approached by AFP refused to discuss the practice.

Funding Under Threat

Hoekstra noted that shooting near the count points has declined, but warned that it may have shifted to areas not covered by monitoring. Birdwatchers now occupy spots previously used by hunters, but he fears the hunters may return if the funding runs out. This year, the organization's work nearly stopped until an anonymous donation of 15,000 euros (about 17,000 dollars) saved the autumn count after a failed fundraising campaign. Hoekstra highly praised the volunteers' motivation and called on international organizations and major donors to 'see the value of this incredibly efficient style of monitoring.' The data collected by the project since 2008 help researchers track bird populations at breeding sites, where other counts are difficult.

Awe at the Migration

Watching the flow of birds, Daneshvar remarked: 'They were doing this long before we came here, and they will keep doing it long after we are gone. It makes you feel very small.'