Georgia - May 2026 - Logistics and Itinerary

Eastern Georgia, 17th - 21st May 2026

A Team Wanstead tour, our first since Poland in 2018 and long overdue. Me, Bob, Tony, James and Rob. Georgia as in the Caucasus, not Atlanta Georgia. We had been talking about this on and off for a good long while, mostly focused on an autumn raptor-watching trip to Batumi as this is place that Rob has been to many times, even leading [genuine] tours on occasion. When we learned that he was planning a three week spring visit to cement his place in Georgian eBird folklore we decided it would be only right that we come too. We couldn't manage three weeks, but we successfully inserted ourselves into the middle of his trip. RockJumper eat your heart out, those old-timers have nothing on us! To his credit he took it very well, rising to the occasion even. He swapped his cheapo car from the first part of his trip for a much-needed 4x4, picking us up from the airport after our exhausting flight and taking us straight for breakfast. He planned the whole itinerary, booked all the accomodation, ordered everything, organised to meet his mate Alex from Birding Caucasus in the mountains to help with the tricky species, did all the driving, and took us to all of the good sites in the east of the country for birds he had previously scoped out. And to think we didn't even give him a tip....

It was a superb trip that was supremely well-organised. What a country, the scenery is magnificent. It is the furthest east in Europe (well, Europe-ish) that I had ever been and the quality of the habitat and the birding is quite sensational. It is essentially Eastern Europe but on steroids, which I guess being in the Russian sphere of influence is entirely logical. In just five days we somehow managed to fit in the Greater Caucasus to the north of Tbilisi as well as birding sites on the Azerbaijan border to the south east. The top target for all of us was of course Caucasian Snowcock, but each of us had a list of varying length of species that we needed. I'd birded Central Turkey before but nonetheless there were around ten things that I'd not seen

Logistics

• A five day trip in mid May with Team Wanstead The Snowcocks organised by Shelduck Nature Tours.

• Flights: Direct flight from London Heathrow to Tbilisi with British Airways, a thoroughly miserable experience but quite convenient in so far as it left late in the evening and flew through the night on the outbound. The inbound flight left at 7am and landed at 10am. This is a five+ hour flight on a short-haul aircraft, I was able to bag the exit row but nonetheless this is not fun in any way.

• Car Hire: The tour leader rented a 4x4 which we all contributed to. In Georgia you need a 4x4 just for the pot holes.....
• Driving: Very few roads in Georgia should be thought of as actual roads. The road up to Stepantsminda in particular was in abominable condition, and Georgian driving is cavalier at best. The combination of a permanently deteriorated surface and a maniacal desire to overtake no matter what means that driving here is an acquired taste. Luckily Rob did it all.
• Weather: We really lucked out where it mattered most which was in the mountains. The day before we arrived it had been wet and cold with poor visibility. The following day we spent looking for Snowcock was perfect, and in fact the previous poor weather assisted with some of the birds that had clearly descended. In the Steppe to the east the weather was glorious.
• Accommodation: Basic but spot on accomodation everywhere we went, good value and the food was excellent.
• Food: A real eye opener, I might go back for the food alone. Fantastic vegetables and salads, and some wonderful specialities. I can skip the Khachapuri (heavy cheese-laded bread that renders one immobile for a period of time) but the Khinkali dumplings were a thing of beauty. 
• Optics: I took my scope as well as a camera. Having two scopes between five was really benficial.

• Literature: eBird! And Rob!

Day 1 – After landing at 5am we had breakfast at an airport hotel, picking up Hoopoe and Red-backed Shrike in the car park. We then birded Ponichala on the outskirts of Tbilisi before heading to Kumisi Reservoir and then east to Jandari Lake and the Azerbaijan border. Overnight near David Gareji Monastery. 

Day 2 – Started at the Monastery for Green Warbler and Menetries's Warbler before a long drive east to the Taribana Badlands and stunning Steppe habitats along tracks south of Dedoplistskaro towards Dalis Mta Reservoir and the Chachuna Managed Reserve. Overnight at Khornabuji. 

Day 3 – An early start locally at Kochebi Kake then back for breakdast. A quick stop at Eagle Gorge on the outskirts of town before a long drive back and around Tbilisi and north to Stepantsminda via Zhinvali Reservoir, Gudauri and the Jvari Pass. This is the road to Russia. Just enough time to get in some birding before dusk, with some wonderfully close views of White-winged Redstart. Overnight at a superb guesthouse at Stepantsminda that does not advertise...

Day 4 – All day in the mountains, starting at the base Mt Kuro for Snowcock and then taking in Gergeti Church and the Chkheri River trail, Pansheti Pool and Buckthorn habitat, and the evocatively-named Stepantsminda Rubbish Creek, a popular fly-tipping area. Lots of crap, lots of birds! Loads of birding sites around here, more than you can realistically cover in a day. Night two at the guesthouse.

Day 5 – We spent part of the morning revisiting sites around Stepantsminda and then birded the mountain pass on the way back down to Tbilisi. Thrush Nightingale and Wheatears in the snow, and migrant Honey Buzzards and Bee-eaters overhead. Afternoon giving Kumisi a more thorough look before a final walk at Ponichala. Overnight at the Tbilisi Airport Ibis before the early morning flight back to London.