Rep of Georgia - Batumi Raptor Count - Banding Double!

The Batumi Bird Fair has been taking place this week and there has been a lot of focus from the local media. The Oasis hotel has been the venue for evening lectures by respected Ornithologists from across the globe. BRC has also provided daily count data which has been presented during the evenings proceedings. The counters at BRC have an open invitation to attend all events.

This morning Dris and I opened the nets with a view to giving the star studded cast of Ornithologists a demonstration at our guest house. All we needed were a few birds in the nets and myself to remain composed and the small BRC event would be a successful one.

The birds obliged but I was not prepared for the quality of bird to find its way into the nets! Two life birds and a third a banding tick for me. Needless to say the Identification guide to Birds in the Hand by Demongin, Lelievre, and Candelin played a part in proceedings along with some id assistance.

The first was a Thrush Nightingale who was a bit chirpy at first but soon settled down almost enjoying the attentions of the group of special guests. The book was consulted and identity confirmed! Life bird number one!

The second bird a Spotted Flycatcher was completely un-phased by the attention and was duly processed and released. This was a new banding species for me!

Dris bought the third bird bag to the table casually stating it was just a small bird. Obviously remembering that this was another life bird for me! I placed the bird in the ringers grip and noted the thick yellow eye stripe as the bird emerged from the bag. Uh oh this was looking interesting and the wing bar confirmed the identity as a Green Warbler.

Perhaps the above pushed aside the regular passerines today knowing that our guests were of the highest caliber!

Another amazing day with BRC!