Bird Monitoring
I
t was another great year of counting, banding,
and studying the birds on Kiawah Island.
Currently, there are five major long-term
projects underway: Fall Migration Banding,
Winter Songbird Banding, Marsh Sparrow Banding,
Painted Bunting Banding, and Breeding Bird Survey.
Collectively, these research projects complement each
other by helping us understand the needs of Kiawah’s
bird species across different habitats and seasons.
Fall Migration Banding: Banding is conducted
each fall to monitor songbird populations during
their southbound migration. Kiawah Island provides
important stopover habitat that migrating birds rely
on to rest and refuel before continuing their journey.
Banding occurred from August 15–November 30
on Captain Sam’s Spit at the Kiawah Island Banding
Station (KIBS). We were able to open nets on 103 days
this fall with only five days lost due to bad weather. We
banded 5,086 new birds and had 1,313 recaptures of
80 different species. Several species were captured that
have not been banded on Kiawah previously including:
Cooper’s hawk, eastern screech-owl, clapper rail, sedge
wren, yellow-throated warbler, and rose-breasted
grosbeak. For the third year, the Kiawah Conservancy
made it possible to hire three seasonal interns—Mattie
VandenBoom (for the second year), Libby Natola, and
12
Matt Zak. The Town of Kiawah also provided funding
for a fourth banding technician, William Oakley. They
were instrumental in making this season a success.
The intern program is vital to the continued long-term
progress of the Fall Migration Banding project. To
learn more, please visit the KIBS blog at
www.kiawahislandbanding.blogspot.com.
Winter Songbird Banding: Banding is conducted
during the winter months to monitor wintering
songbirds. A large population of yellow-rumped
warblers spends the winter on Kiawah Island. Their
presence provides a unique oppo