Azerbaijan trip report, May 2015

Some of you may remember that a long time ago, I visited Azerbaijan. It was my intention to keep up the tradition of producing detailed reports for each West Pal trip I went on with this excursion intended to be no exception. Unfortunately it has taken me the best part of nine months to pull my finger out and get this completed, but here it is. As always, you can email me for a PDF copy of the report or for further information on birding in this wonderful country.

Azerbaijan 2015

I spent the first two weeks of May in Azerbaijan, a nation lying on the Caspian Sea's west coast and scarcely visited by Western European birders. Aside the stress caused by absurd bureaucracy, paranoid army/police personnel, stubborn guides, tricky logistics, inconsistent roads and so on, it proved an overwhelmingly successful trip with 252 species recorded. Among those there were 15 ticks for me, the only miss being Caspian Snowcock (due to poor weather) - but the biggest personal disappointment connecting with only a female Great Rosefinch. Add to that some great other sightings (e.g. Jungle Cat and Wolf) and spectacular scenery on a daily basis, Azerbaijan is a brilliant destination which is still largely unspoilt and possesses an abundance of wildlife generally not encountered in Western Europe.

I've just uploaded a photo album on my Flickr page, while a trip report will follow in the coming weeks. Here are a few tasters:

Khinaliq

White-winged Black Terns

Persian Wheatear

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Jungle Cat