Text & Photos © M. Heiß
I am currently in Tbilisi (Georgia) due to some trouble with the prolonging of my visa. I hope to get it as soon as possible to continue the bird counts.
The last counting day was quite surprising as obviously a shift in species composition took place and several further species increased in numbers. The day started with an unusual observation short after sunrise with a flock of 500 high migrating Pygmy Cormorants. The next eight hours of counting produced:
- 130 Ruddy Shelducks
- 850+ Stock Doves
- the first few Wood Pigeons
- 30 Hen Harriers
- 1 Rough-legged Buzzard
- 60 Black-bellied Sandgrouses
- 6 Black Storks, rare sight
- 800 Common Cranes in several flocks
- 5500+ larks, mainly Sky, but also Calandra and a few Woodlarks and Lesser Short-toed Larks
- thousands of Rooks and Common Starlings
- the first Little Bustards with a flock of 300 birds migrating south and further 6 individuals resting in the steppe
- 1 Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
- and many others…
Pygmy Cormorants on migration. Two Rooks flew at lower elevations.
Flock of Little Bustards
Hen Harrier
Migrating flock of Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Flushed Black-bellied Sandgrouses
Birding Azerbaijan 