Georgia - Kasbegi (Stepandsminda)
Stopping en route at the rather impressive Ananuri Fort Complex.
The drive though - my goodness it was eventful - typical of the wider region, the Georgians drive as if it is their final journey. The traffic was also horrendous in places as heavy snow had dumped its load on the higher altitudes over the preceding few days. As a result the Russian Military Highway that routes north to Stepandsminda and into Russia had been closed for a few days. Lines of articulated lorries were parked up by the side of the road literally for kilometre upon kilometre, bumper to bumper. It was an incredible sight. On the road, the crazies motivated at every moment to be a car ahead of their current position felt more like a video game than reality. This was after a two hour stint just to get out of Tbilisi from the airport.
It was finally good to get some rest.
Sea-buckthorn plains of Stepantsminda
19th April 2025
Today proved to be an epic day. A reasonably early 6am for a visit to the slopes of Mt. Kuros beyond St. Elias church just outside of the village. It was a tiring trudge up the slopes where in places thick snow had carpeted the landscape. Driving up the track was potentially hazardous so the plan was to leave the car at the bottom of the hill.
Dawn had broken, the valley began to illuminate, the backdrop breathtakingly beautiful lined with snow covered mountains. The subtle sounds of birdsong punctuated the montane silence, trills of fire-fronted serin and water pipit. A lone northern wheatear was present on the slopes.
Then the curlew-esque trills of the Caucasian snowcock echoed across the rocky screes that were lined with brilliant white snow. Trying to pin the birds down was tricky but a small multi-European group (two Germans, three Spaniards, two Dutch) we managed to nail a pair of snowcock. Through the scope, we observed their displaying calls, a view that could only be dreamt of, the male cocking its white hinde feathers while the female looked typically unimpressed by the antics of the chivalrous male.
We watched the events for around half an hour but it was bitterly cold. Heading down, a single distant Caucasian grouse was feeding on the exposed grassy vegetation. Two of the targets seen in super quick time. The experience of witnessing these locally enigmatic species will hopefully live long in the memory.
This was all before breakfast which was served from 8.30am each day at the guesthouse. After resting for a couple of hours, the next stop was the Valley of the River Terek that was visited a couple of times during the short stay here. A couple of hours were spent in an area of pasture just to the north of the foothills where two each of black redstart of the eastern race and common redstart, two lovely male ring ouzel of the Caucasian race 'amicorum', and well over a hundred water pipit passed through.
Heading down to the valley, one of the few main sites of the area revealed an impressive assemblage of redstart species; black redstart, common redstart and eventually the sought after white-winged redstart (Guldenstadt's redstart) an absolutely stellar species, the males gaudy and simply unmistakable adorning a brilliant white crown and similarly luminous white wing patches that make this a stunning species to observe in situ but even more spectacular in flight.
A total of four males and a single female were seen after a short wait. The curious behaviour of this species is that they can go missing for relatively long periods within the dense buckthorn so patience is definitely required. Thankfully the weather today was absolutely glorious. Blue skies, a warm sun, and light winds made for a stark contrast from the crisp morning observing the harbingers of altitude.
At the dam, two wallcreeper were scaling the abutments. If you want the definition of spectacular, these birds meet the description. This was only the second time seeing this species, but four individuals were seen on this trip. Watching the two birds actively feeding while showing off the butterfly-like wing pattern in flight was such a privilege. Having clear prolonged views of these birds demonstrate why this species is particularly sought after across the Western Palearctic and even more so in the UK where one of these remarkable birds would lose the minds of many a birder. Such a thrill to see.
Another remarkable encounter was seeing a wallcreeper fly past my guesthouse window and settle for a few minutes on the wall of an abandoned stonewall structure. It was astonishing to see the flash of red catch my eye while staring dreamily at the mountains beyond.
20th April 2025
A later start this morning after a decent nights sleep. Before breakfast, a walk (up then) down to the area of Sea Buckthorn revealed very little other than three ring ouzel, three Caucasian grouse, a single common chiffchaff and four griffon vulture soaring overhead with one being harassed by a hooded crow.
It was a pleasant day, much like the day before with lots of sunshine but the wind was keener that slightly took the edge off the temperature. It was also slightly harder going. The plan was to bird around the Gergeti Trinity Church for most of the day. The drive up toward the church was only 15 minutes away but what failed to register was the snowfall from previous days would provide some light entertainment. The second half of the steep meandering climb up to the church still showed evidence of abundant snowfall. Despite the gradual thaw, it was still slightly treacherous and after a brief excursion off-road when the car hit some standing snow that left the front tyres free-spinning, it was only thanks to the unamused driver of the car behind that kindly released the vehicle from snow, but sadly not my humiliation.
The area around the wider area of the church was totally covered in snow, the views were spectacular, but birding was not an option here. Other than a flock of yellow-billed chough wheeling around the church, it was time to head back down toward the town.
The Valley of the Terek River deserved another visit. The moderate gusts notably suppressed bird activity, it was all too quiet. At least five white-winged redstart were still present in the same location as the day before. Ring ouzel were in fine voice along the valley escarpment and a couple of rock bunting appeared from the thickets.
On the return walk, a wallcreeper was flushed from a small rocky scree, and two white-bellied dipper were seen from the dam bridge. The wallcreeper was seen again on the dam before disappearing once again.
The final morning and a final push for more targets. Heading to the Sea Buckthorn Plains, the snow melt was significant allowing access further into the foothills where the distant haunting call of the Caspian snowcock could be heard frequently but attempts to pin it down proved to be a challenge too far. Four Caucasian grouse on the slopes were much easier to pick out. It was a pleasure to meet Chris Griffin and his Naturetrek tour group for a chat. Heading toward the further area of buckthorn was met with the continuing absence of great rosefinch that have been notably scarce this year with not a single ringing record in the area. It was disappointing to miss out on this local specialty. A ring ouzel, singing willow warbler and another loose flock of fire-fronted serin were present in the area.
Sadly, it was time to head away but not before another look round the area of scrub near the rubbish tip on the edge of the town where a last gasp singing mountain chiffchaff was present providing great views of its subtle features. A lesser whitethroat was new in and three male common redstart and a single white-winged redstart made a brief appearance.
Thankfully the drive back was a lot quicker than on the way up but not without its moments. Driving really does feel like a lottery at times.
22nd April 2025 - Tbilisi
The plan was always to spend a day in the city doing the tourist thing. Tbilisi is a fine place to visit, its very walkable and there was plenty to absorb a full day.
This impressive piece of street art was completed by Peter Skensved, an urban artist from Denmark celebrating David Agmashenebeli (David IV), considered to be the greatest and most successful Georgian ruler in history.
wonderful, just wonderful. wanted to do it but the flight time and a320 are awful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jono - yes it was wonderful - the flight time is a bummer unless you fancy easyjet from LTN :-/ BA operate the 320NEO on the route which are much more comfortable than the older CEOs.
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