Birds
239,735 raptors in one day at Batumi: new Black Kite and eagle records
After a week of cold rain, the Batumi bottleneck had its second-biggest day on record. Black Kites and large eagles set new records.
On 4 October 2026, the two stations of Batumi Raptor Count counted 239,735 raptors in a single day in the Batumi bottleneck. It is the second-biggest day in the count’s history. Black Kites set new daily and season records, and three eagle categories set new daily records. The figures come from the organisation’s report — Reptiles.ge did not conduct the count.
What happened on 4 October?
For about a week, the Batumi bottleneck had cold, rainy weather. On 4 October the weather cleared and the birds moved. Across both Batumi Raptor Count stations, 239,735 raptors were counted that day.
At Station 1, huge streams of Black Kites (Milvus migrans) crossed the sky. At Station 2, large and mostly chaotic streams of Steppe Buzzards (Buteo buteo vulpinus) passed — a subspecies of the Common buzzard. Large eagles joined later in the morning. According to the report, the counters worked for hours without a break.
Batumi Raptor Count published the report on 6 October. Full field notes from both stations are on its count data page for 4 October.
Which records were broken?
With 239,735 birds, 4 October is the second-biggest day in Batumi Raptor Count’s history. Four records fell the same day. The Black Kite set both a daily and a season record. Large eagles taken together set a new daily record. Separate daily records were set for the Greater Spotted Eagle (Clanga clanga) and the Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis).
The report gives no species totals. This article repeats only that the records were broken, not by how many birds.
The biggest day remains 2 October 2014, with 264,891 raptors. Batumi Raptor Count then described it as the largest passage of raptors ever recorded outside the Pan-American flyway.
Why Batumi?
In autumn, raptors heading for Africa follow the eastern Black Sea coast. In Adjara, north of Batumi, sea and mountains squeeze that route into a narrow corridor. This is the Batumi bottleneck: many birds cross the same sky, so they can be counted from two stations.
According to Batumi Raptor Count, more than a million migrating raptors pass through the bottleneck every autumn. On this atlas the count sites appear as Sakhalvasho and Shuamta on the profiles of species that pass through in autumn. More species from the corridor are on the birds hub.
The season is not over
The 2026 autumn count began on 12 August and runs until 21 October. It is Batumi Raptor Count’s 18th autumn count. Its 27 September report says a day of 54,406 birds took the season total past one million.
There is no final season total yet. The count is still running, and daily totals and the species mix may still change. Earlier reports from the corridor are in News.
