The Chorokhi Delta: A deathly trap for migratory birds along the eastern Black Sea coast

By Aslan Bolkvadze, Alexander Rukhaia & Tohar Tal

Are you looking for a top-notch birdwatching destination to watch thousands of migratory birds as they make a stop-over during their intensive journeys? Look no further than the Chorokhi delta! The delta, consisting of the Chorokhi river mouth and surrounding areas make for excellent birding opportunities. The delta, encompassing approximately 200 hectares, is characterised by its high variety of biotopes including bushes, dry and swampy grass plains, marshes, old fishponds, cobblestone beaches, and sandy shores around the river mouth. Especially during the spring and autumn migration seasons, you can easily find the most attractive species from the Collin’s bird guide within a single morning strolling through the delta. However, that same morning, you can just as easily see dozens of hunters recklessly shooting and killing birds.

Over the past years, more than 300 bird species have been seen in the Chorokhi delta. Many of these are migratory species using the area as a stop-over site, including several globally threatened species such as Sociable Lapwing (CR), Broad-billed Sandpiper (VU), Greater Spotted Eagle (VU), and European Turtle Dove (VU). On top of that, a good number of extreme rarities have been found in the delta, such as Egyptian Nightjar, Three-banded Plover, Black-crowned Sparrow-lark, Oriental Skylark, and Pied Bush Chat. Since the Chorokhi delta is rich in habitats and one of the few remaining stop-over sites along the eastern Black Sea coast, it is an important hub with great potential to protect and conserve many migratory birds. For this reason, the delta has gained the status of Emerald Network Site (ENS GE0000054), Special Protection Area (SPA N15), and Important Bird Area (IBA GEO32).

Given the importance of the Batumi region for migratory birds, and the wide variety of species that can be found, the delta has gained international fame among ecotourists interested in birdwatching. However, this wasn’t always the case. Just a few decades ago, the ecotourism industry in Batumi was virtually non-existent. While over the last decades remote rainforests in South America and savannas in Africa were overrun by European and British birders, the avifauna of Soviet countries on the Eurasian continent, including Georgia, remained unexplored. Despite the first curious birdwatchers making their appearance in Batumi during the late 70s, the political situation during the Soviet era obviously did not allow for further expansion of tourism for Western foreigners. The few adventurers that did make it into the country were under close surveillance with restricted access.

After the iron curtain was lifted in 1991, the subsequent political changes and stagnation of progress delayed the rise of ecotourism in Batumi until after the turn of the century in the early 2000s. While most local ornithologists and the few curious foreign visitors realised the potential of the Batumi region, it was primarily after the foundation of the Batumi Raptor Count (BRC) in 2008 that European birdwatchers discovered what they were missing out on! Soon after, the first commercial birding tours appeared. Thanks to the ongoing efforts of the BRC, local birding tour companies, and the relevant tourism departments, ecotourism – particularly birdwatching – exponentially increased in the Batumi region. While many positive changes have taken place since, such as improved birdwatching infrastructure and increased conservation efforts (primarily by BRC), the region knows many challenges. Here we focus on the Chorokhi delta.

The Chorokhi delta is located just over three kilometres away from Batumi, the second largest city of Georgia, and surrounded by many smaller towns. Subsequently, the area is threatened by a wide variety of human activities. In addition to multiple unassessed development projects near the delta, a stone mining factory deposits gravel and silt, while a hazardous medical waste facility pumps unfiltered wastewater into the delta. A particularly visually striking issue is the sheer amount of plastic waste. Garbage is dumped directly in the delta, flows in from upstream the river, drifts from the Black Sea, or is left behind by careless visitors who camp, fish, drive off-road, and collect reed. Another major source of pollution is the open rubbish dump on the delta’s northern edge. Aside from direct pollution, the organic waste at the dump attracts dozens of stray dogs, which often roam into the delta where they disturb resting migratory birds. Last but not least, the garbage dump functions as a major attractor for birds, including thousands of Yellow-legged Gulls, hundreds of Black Kites, dozens of Black and White Storks and a handful of Greater and Lesser Spotted Eagles. Because the Batumi International Airport is less than one kilometre away from the rubbish dump, the birds face a serious collision risk with landing and departing airplanes.

Sadly enough, even when taking all of the threats listed above into consideration, the one human activity that remains the most pressing threat to migratory birds is the widespread killing of birds in the Chorokhi delta. During a regular autumn morning in the delta, you can see dozens of hunters driving and walking around with their dogs while indiscriminately shooting at birds. Based on our personal observations, those of other local ornithologists, and the many international birdwatchers visiting the area – including observations on online citizen science platforms – we know that each migration season tens of different (globally threatened) species are killed, including Common Cranes, raptors (e.g. Montagu’s Harrier, Red-footed Falcon, Sparrowhawk, and Black Kite), herons (e.g. Purple Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron and Little Bittern), ducks (e.g. Garganey and Shelduck), waders (e.g. Great Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Stilt, and Black-winged Pratincole), rails (e.g. Spotted Crake and Corncrake), European Nightjars, and songbirds (e.g. Turtle Dove, Lesser Grey Shrike and Skylark).

Due to the magnitude of hunting and lack of consistent monitoring, it is impossible to give a precise estimation of the number of birds killed. However, we are certain the toll adds up to thousands of birds annually, with peak activity in autumn. Tragically, many of the birds that are shot are not killed instantly. Instead, many birds injured and left by hunters to die. While some injured birds manage to fly away, it is disturbingly common to find birds hiding in bushes or standing on the beach with broken wings or pellets embedded in their body, awaiting a slow death. The graphic pictures shown here give a clear impression of the severity of hunting, how hunters don’t bother to pick up injured birds, and the lack of secrecy around the hunting practices.

The situation in the Batumi region, and especially the Chorokhi delta, is clearly fraught with contradiction. Conservation NGOs and tour operators put great effort in promoting the region, resulting in hundreds of birders from all over the world visiting the area each year – including prominent ornithologists during the Batumi Birdwatching Festival. Nevertheless, the widespread hunting remains unchecked. This leaves local and international conservationists and tour guides with the saddening responsibility of not being able to shield visitors from the extreme discomfort of witnessing the killing of birds. Governmental bodies, while aiming to promote the region including the delta, have not taken any action against the hunting practices, creating a highly challenging environment in which to develop ecotourism.

Local tour operators have adapted by timing excursions to avoid peak hunting hours and exploring alternative birding sites. However, these are evasive measures, not solutions. Each conservationist and tour guide realises that the hunting heavily harms the area’s reputation, deterring ecotourists – a problem ignored by government institutions despite the region’s international popularity! As long as the unregulated hunting continues, years of conservation work, including the ENS, SPA and IBA status of the delta, are undermined. For meaningful change, these international statuses recognised by the Georgian government and the sustained ecotourist presence should motivate local authorities to realise their responsibility to protect the Chorokhi delta and surrounding areas by criminalising unsustainable hunting and enforce long-ignored laws.

The most ironic aspect of this issue is that we know, based on a recent case study, hunting can be deterred. During the Cold War, there was a Russo-Soviet military base and training ground in the Chorokhi delta. After the departure of the Russians almost two decades ago, supposedly unexploded mines remained. Due to mine clearance work by the army in 2018 and 2019, hunting was banned for most weeks in autumn, resulting in a dreamlike scenario where hunting was almost completely absent in the delta! Unfortunately, after the army left the area again, the heartbreaking hunting scenes have returned. Despite all of the above, we want to end on a positive note: we believe that anyone with a love for nature should not be discouraged to visit the Batumi region. Our approach remains that only together, local ornithologists, conservationists and the international birdwatching community, we can convince the local authorities to stop the relentless killing of birds in the Chorokhi delta.

Aslan Bolkvadze is an experienced biologists with extensive knowledge of the Georgian fauna and flora, he is also a passionate ornithologist, and coordinator of wildlife management at the Batumi International Airport.

Alexander Rukhaia is a local guide and co-owner of Binding Caucasus. As former director of SABUKO, the BirdLife partner in Georgia, he initiated a number of conservation projects and actively lobbied for the assignment of IBA and ENS statuses to the Chorokhi Delta.

Tohar Tal is an ecologist from the Netherlands and current chairman of the Batumi Raptor Count. Over the past six years, he has frequently visited Georgia, in particular the Batumi region, for his conservation and raptor migration monitoring work at BRC.