Hello
After a wet start this morning the weather improved and we drove up to 2000 metres and birded a couple of freshwater lakes on the Javakheti Plain. Here it was cold until the sun came out and it was obvious that the wet early morning had brought quite a number of migrants down. Despite very little cover on this upland plateau, warblers were hopping around in weeds and stalks and very low leafless bushes, and raptors dawdled overhead along a broad front.
The lakes held waterfowl which included Ferruginous Duck, Pintail and Garganey and the more interesting waders were Spotted Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank and Ruff. A large falcon attacking the waders caused them panic and us some confusion as to which species we were dealing with. In the end we decided it was a sandy (and aberrant coloured) Peregrine. Night Herons had formed a colony and White Storks were fairly numerous.
Up to fifty Marsh Harriers were either displaying over these upland marshes or were passing through overhead, with still good numbers of Montagu's Harriers also passing through. About three pairs of Common Cranes were trumpeting and nest-building and Armenian Gulls were present in the hundreds.
The remainder of the day was then spent driving to the capital Tbilisi and our last full day of birding Georgia was over.
Regards
Neil M
After a wet start this morning the weather improved and we drove up to 2000 metres and birded a couple of freshwater lakes on the Javakheti Plain. Here it was cold until the sun came out and it was obvious that the wet early morning had brought quite a number of migrants down. Despite very little cover on this upland plateau, warblers were hopping around in weeds and stalks and very low leafless bushes, and raptors dawdled overhead along a broad front.
The lakes held waterfowl which included Ferruginous Duck, Pintail and Garganey and the more interesting waders were Spotted Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank and Ruff. A large falcon attacking the waders caused them panic and us some confusion as to which species we were dealing with. In the end we decided it was a sandy (and aberrant coloured) Peregrine. Night Herons had formed a colony and White Storks were fairly numerous.
Up to fifty Marsh Harriers were either displaying over these upland marshes or were passing through overhead, with still good numbers of Montagu's Harriers also passing through. About three pairs of Common Cranes were trumpeting and nest-building and Armenian Gulls were present in the hundreds.
The remainder of the day was then spent driving to the capital Tbilisi and our last full day of birding Georgia was over.
Regards
Neil M
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| Barred Warbler |
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| Black-headed Wagtail. This bird was of the green-mantled and most common form. Some males exhibit blackish mantles. |
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| Some in our party thought this eagle was a contender for Spotted Eagle. However the broken primary tips, worn and displaced secondaries and heavily abraded tail with missing feathers plus evidence of active wing moult didn't help so we decided to leave this one as unidentified! |
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| Laughing Dove at Tbilisi. This species only occurs regularly in Tbilisi and is a recent colonist to the city. |
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