Despite it is known for centuries that a huge number of migrating birds pass along the Caspian coast and through Azerbaijan, the area around Mount Besh Barmag (Beşbarmaq) was just recently identified as a globally important bird migration bottleneck. Here, at the easternmost foothills of the Greater Caucasus, migrating birds that avoid crossing the high mountain range and also the nearby Caspian Sea are funnelled through a narrow coastal plain. 2-3 million birds pass the counting station in autumn. On good days more than 100.000 individuals can be counted. In total, more than 320 bird species have been recorded.
Our aim is to establish the annual count of migrating birds at Besh Barmag as an efficient tool for bird conservation in a little-studied region. Furthermore, we are eager to use this count to promote environmental education and eco-tourism in Azerbaijan. The final goal of our activities will be a bird observatory, where bird lovers, nature enthusiasts and scientists get together to enjoy the miracle of bird migration.
Latest news of the Besh Barmag Bird Migration Count:
Call for Counters: Besh Barmag Bird Migration Count 2023
We are happy to announce another bird migration counting season at Besh Barmag bottleneck for autumn 2023. After the very successful full season in 2022 we are in good spirit and eager to run another long-awaited round of the epic bird migration count. With some highly motivated additions to our local team and keen old…
December 2022 at Besh Barmag: beautiful and interesting count extension!
Text © Gabi Caucal December 2022 at Besh Barmag: beautiful and interesting count extension! As in 2018, the monitoring continued during the first ten days of December. After a second part of November, overall very calm with a very slow movements of waterbirds (example: only 3 sequences with Greylag Goose data, 4 with Red-crested Pochard…
Article about Besh Barmag bottleneck in The Caspian Post
In the beginning of November the famous travel writer and book author Mark Elliott visited the Besh Barmag Bird Migration Count. His impressions are summarised in an article by the The Caspian Post: https://caspianpost.com/en/post/news/caspian-region/birding-hotspot-besh-barmaq/ Enjoy reading!
10 December 2022: Last day of the counting season at Besh Barmag
Yesterday was the final day of the season at Besh Barmag bird migration bottleneck. Many people from across Azerbaijan, Europe and America visited and enjoyed this awesome place. Even more people were involved in arranging, organising and sponsoring this 3.5-month long event with daily counts from sunrise to sunset. To all of them a big…
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Birding Azerbaijan 