CAPTAIN SAMS
The day started out kind of cold (not complaining!!), dreary, and windy which was not conducive to catching birds. Because of that, Michael and I decided to close up early and head up to Little Bear to help tear down the site for the fall. We only banded 6 birds and had 6 recaptures in the 2.6 hours that we had the nets open. Michael is out of hours for the week so I'll be running Captain Sams solo tomorrow.
Today was the last day for the banders. Kristin, Natalie, Noah, and Lisa will all set off in different directions to pursue the next step in their journey. It was an fantastic fall season and it would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work that each one of them put in this season. I was incredibly lucky to have another great banding crew this season. I wish them all the best of luck in whatever they decide to do in the future.
-Aaron
Today was a bitter sweet day at the station. I had the privilege of having all the assistants at the station with me to help me close down Little Bear for the season. We ended our day with a total of 8 birds with only 2 of them being recaptures. Our species count was not high, with us only ending up with a total of 3 species. We worked on taking down each net in between net runs. The tides did not affect us as badly as it did yesterday, which was amazing!
I convinced each assistant to write up a fun little paragraph or 2 about their time here, so everyone can hear about their perspective/ favorite memory of the season💙
-Kristin
Kristin:
I am grateful that Aaron has allowed me to return to the Kiawah Island Banding Station over the years, and each year has had a new favorite bird or even a memory every season. Running Little Bear has been one of the best experiences I have gained and I'm proud to say I have ran a successful season. Even though the water levels started out high at the beginning of the season, we managed to capture a decent amount of species, 87 to be exact. This is the highest species diversity that Little Bear has had over the years. My most favorable moment of the season was capturing a Yellow-crown Night Heron. I had been seeing one avoiding my nets for a long time and missed out on the first one that was captured this season on my day off. I was happy that we captured one but was waiting for another one to find our nets. We had worked that day repairing some nets and just as I switched out a net with a new one, a Yellow-crowned Night Heron was captured during the next run. I was impressed and proud that we managed to capture 2 in one season and I was there for this one! As much as I was excited, the smell of the night heron was strong. I had to hold my breath a few times, as not to gag over the strong fish smell of the poop. The crew I was with that day chuckled with me after we let it go about my facial expression.
I am glad I got to work with a wonderful crew this season and see them learn new tricks and gain lots of experience, while exploring the wonderful island we worked on. It was a blast to learn more about each person and I wish them well with their next adventures. I hope everyone had fun and had wonderful memories to share with others. I am also glad to work with Michael again and to work with both, Aaron and Michael out at Little Bear. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping Captain Sams catch some good species while we are gone and that the cold front coming in next week will push in some more wintering birds.
Natalie:
I'm very happy that I was able to return to Kiawah this year, it was a great season and I made lots of great memories! There were plenty of amazing birds to make it interesting. I got to band my first ever Kentucky Warbler and Wilson's Warbler this season. And the Cerulean Warbler, Dusky Flycatcher, Barred Owl, and Bicknell's Thrush are all new birds for the banding station and are new birds for me as well. The Barred Owl in particular was such a cool bird to see up close. I have seen several Barred Owls in my lifetime but actually getting to handle one was such a cool experience and it is something I will never forget. It was amazing to see all of the birds we caught in the hand and get the opportunity to work with and learn from experienced banders such as Aaron, Michael, and Kristin. I have learned so much and I am so grateful for all they have taught me. It was a great crew overall and I had a lot of fun with everyone.
It is bittersweet to reach the end of the season, I will definitely miss banding every day and hanging out with the crew. Kiawah is a beautiful place and I will be sad to leave it (and the ocean) behind. Captain Sams will continue to run throughout the rest of the month, I hope they catch lots of cool birds! It will be interesting to see if they catch a Fox Sparrow this year. Nevertheless it was a great season full of amazing birds! I'm glad I got the opportunity to come back!
Lisa:
In the spring of 2022, I visited Kiawah Island with Georgia DNR for a Red Knot trapping event, and since then I have known this to be a very special place. A few years later, I feel so fortunate to have been a part of KIBS for fall songbird migration! This swampy/wooded habitat was such a unique setting to learn in, and it was fun to walk (and splash) through the trails. We had excellent species diversity this year, my favorites of which being Eastern Whip-poor-will, Green heron, Eastern Screech Owl, and Black-throated Blue Warbler. Leaving this experience, I feel that I have gained a much better concept on how birds molt, and what to look for based on the species I have in the hand. My extraction and net repair skills have certainly improved as well! Words cannot express the gratitude I have for Aaron and our leads for spending countless hours teaching and pushing us to strive for excellence, I will look back on this season very fondly as I continue my journey in field biology.
Noah Nei:
This season was an incredible experience that is difficult to put into words. This fall I sought out to develop my skills as a bander and that goal was only accomplished because of the incredible team here at Kiawah Island Banding Station. Every day provided an opportunity to sharpen my skills under the guidance of incredible leadership. One of the things I anticipated about coming to the east coast was experiencing a higher volume migration. Experiencing this allowed me to speed up my extractions, process more efficiently, and allowed me to see a much wider variety of species in the hand. I am so grateful for the lessons taught, experiences had, and the knowledge passed down by the lead banders here at KIBS.
Reflecting upon the season it's amazing how quickly it went by. Time flies when you're having fun; it also goes by quick when you're catching a lot of birds (October really came and went). Some of my favorite birds included the Cerulean Warbler we captured early in the season and the Barred Owl caught at Captain Sams. Incidentally, both happened to be station firsts! I also enjoyed the wide variety of diversity we get to experience here, especially the range of warblers we capture. Although I have never been particularly drawn to the southeast, I found myself falling in love with the coastal habitat at Captain Sams and Little Bear. Walking along the dunes, watching fiddler crabs scurry beneath my feet, and seeing the tidal changes was a new experience that I will hold onto closely. Writing this is bittersweet and I look forward to keeping up with the station in the upcoming years and how it impacts future banding assistants, like myself, in developing their own skills toward their own career goals.
| Species | Captain Sam's | Little Bear | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Recaps | New | Recaps | |
Eastern Phoebe | - | - | 2 | - |
Hermit Thrush | - | 1 | - | - |
Gray Catbird | - | 1 | - | 1 |
Swamp Sparrow | 1 | 1 | - | - |
White-throated Sparrow | 1 | - | - | - |
Yellow-rumped Warbler | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Today's Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| # of Recaptures | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| # of Species | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 82.2 | 64.95 | 147.15 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 14.6 | 12.3 | 13.6 |
| # of Nets | 32 | 20 | 52 |
| 2024 Fall Cumulative Banding Stats | Captain Sams | Little Bear | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| # Birds Banded | 5,291 | 3,345 | 8,636 |
| # of Recaptures | 1,223 | 941 | 2,164 |
| # of Species | 87 | 87 | 102 |
| Effort (net-hours) | 14,653.4 | 9,541.55 | 24,194.95 |
| Capture Rate (birds/100 net-hours) | 44.5 | 44.9 | 44.6 |
| # of Days | 90 | 80 |
Banding Staff
Aaron Given (CS)
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