And So This is Goodbye

 Captain Sams:

Oh my stars, today was the day. The day we never wanted to come upon us. Today was our last day ever banding at the Kiawah Island Banding Station. The weather reflected our emotions perfectly, with cloudy skies, chilly temperatures, and misty conditions. It is as if the sky itself was also holding back its tears. With our sorrow came 41 beautiful birds, all of which we have come to cherish and love. The majority of our these feathered friends were Yellow-rumped Warblers. Oh, how their sweet chirps sound like music to my ears. And what would a complete last day be without Gray Catbirds, Northern Cardinals, and the most precious Ruby-crowned Kinglet of all? Two surprising individuals visited our nets today, a recap Sharp-shinnned Hawk and a Hermit Thrust banded on November 15, 2021. 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

We can't believe the season is at its end! We would like to thank Aaron and Kristin for teaching us so many valuable skills and knowledge. Being a part of the KIBS team has been a rewarding and exciting experience. We are thankful for this amazing opportunity and are hopeful to continue working with birds in the future. 

Live long and prosper.

-Brittany and Natalie

Little Bear:

Note:  All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL

Species	Captain Sams		Little Bear
	New	Recaps	New	Recaps
Sharp-shinned Hawk	-	1	-	-
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1	-	-	-
Gray Catbird	1	4	-	-
Hermit Thrush	1	2	-	-
Song Sparrow	1	-	-	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)	21	6	-	-
Northern Cardinal	-	2	-	-

Today's Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	25	-	-
# of Recaptures	16	-	-
# of Species	7	-	-
Effort (net-hours)	184	-	-
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	22.3	-	-
# of Nets	32	25	57

2023 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats	Captain Sams	Little Bear	TOTAL
# Birds Banded	4388	3380	7768
# of Recaptures	1118	729	1847
# of Species	81	86	97
Effort (net-hours)	14862.05	9293.95	24156.0
Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours)	37.0	44.2	39.8
# of Days	91	78	-

Banding Staff

Aaron Given 

Kristin Attinger (CS)

Brittany Holliker (CS) 

Natalie Miller (CS)