2014 Kiawah Conservancy Annual Report 2014 | Page 15

to development. Banding can provide important information on their movements, distribution and site fidelity. Banding took place from June to August 2014 in the yards of 10 Kiawah residents. Most yards were visited twice. A total of 111 painted buntings were banded along with 73 recaptures. Some nontarget species captured and banded included: blue jay, northern cardinal, Carolina wren, downy woodpecker, and Carolina chickadee. To learn more about the Painted Bunting Banding project, please visit www. wildlifeatkiawah.com/paintedbuntingbanding.html. Breeding Bird Survey (Point-counts): Performing long-term, systematic counts of birds breeding within an area can yield important information on the status and trends of bird populations including population densities for some species. The survey occurred from May 21–May 30 at 238 locations across the entire Island. Over the past six seasons, the overall numbers have remained surprisingly consistent. No major increasing or decreasing trends have been noted for any species. In 2014, 3,286 individuals of 80 different species were counted. To learn more about the Breeding Bird Survey, and see a frequency and abundance table for each species over the past five years, please visit www.wildlifeatkiawah.com/ pointcounts.html. Top 10 species banded during 2014 fall migration •• Common yellowthroat 1,217 •• Gray catbird 1,046 •• Yellow-rumped warbler 842 •• Painted bunting 210 •• Prairie warbler 188 •• Red-eyed vireo 185 •• American redstart 182 •• Palm warbler 95 •• Northern waterthrush 94 •• Ruby-crowned kinglet 80 13