Photos © Elvin Mammadsoy A long-awaited new bird species for Azerbaijan! A male Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata) was found by Colin Steer during the Neophron Tours spring tour in Azerbaijan in Abşeron Milli Parkı-Absheron National Park while Elvin from our team was guiding them. Congratulations to the lucky observers who enjoyed the stunning views of… Continue reading First record of Pied Bushchat for Azerbaijan
Photo © Martin Schuck/Macaulay library More thrilling updates are pouring in on Global Big Day as anticipated! This week, we were delighted to receive not one but two reports of the magnificent Red-footed Falcons (Falco vespertinus) spotted in separate locations on 9th and 10th of May! Despite being an annual migrant through #Azerbaijan, this species… Continue reading Sightings of Red-footed Falcons on spring migration
Photos © Lars-Göte Nilsson Exciting news from recent birdwatching adventures in Azerbaijan! Another group of international birders, namely Erik Hirschfeld, Lars-Göte Nilsson, and Teet Sirotkin, made a remarkable sighting: a pair of Red-rumped Swallows, unexpected spring migrants. These distinctive birds are often overlooked, with only about 10 recorded sightings, the most recent being noted during… Continue reading Red-rumped Swallows in southern Azerbaijan!
Photo © Peter Alfrey Spring migration is in full swing, eagerly awaited by lucky observers! Among the species often overlooked is the Oriental Honey Buzzard in Azerbaijan, with only two confirmed sightings in the past few decades. Despite higher populations in neighboring regions, especially noted by our friends at Batumi Raptor Count, we believe more… Continue reading Oriental Honey Buzzard hybrid on spring migration
Photo © Erik Hirschfeld The first spring record of the Little Bunting in Azerbaijan! The bird was spotted by Erik Hirschfeld, Teet Sirotkin, Lars-Göte Nilsson, and Elvin Memmedsoy in Absheron National Park on 24 April 2024. Located just about 60km from central Baku, this park teems with birdlife and boasts a charmingly remote setting at… Continue reading Spring record of Little Bunting
Text © Michael Heiß Visitors on World Migratory Bird Day © Elvin Məmmədsoy The Besh Barmag Bird Migration Count is currently halfway through the season. Remarkable six weeks have been counted for autumn 2023 and six more will follow. In the first half of October, five dedicated counters, namely Leyla, Elvin, Zülfü, Moritz and Lasse,… Continue reading Halfway through the counting season at Besh Barmag
Photos © Elvin Məmmədsoy On 13 May 2023 a male Red-headed Bunting showed up in the Absheron National Park. This is the second record for Azerbaijan. The first record was on 19 May 2006 in Gobustan observed and photographed by P. Wernicke and H. Müller.
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… Continue reading Call for Counters: Besh Barmag Bird Migration Count 2023
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!
Photos © Elvin Məmmədsoy, Zülfü Fərəcli, Leyla Muslim, Pia Fetting In the last week the counters at Besh Barmag bottleneck were surprised by some warm and sunny days. Unfortunately, this resulted in pretty slow migration with only a few birds on passage. But at least some delightful highlights were presented to the team like a… Continue reading Slow bird migration at Besh, but a European Serin and a Red-rumped Swallow!
Birding Azerbaijan 