Kiawah Island biologist bands countless birds each season to track migration patterns | SC Environment and Environment News

KIAWAH ISLAND — A biologist on this barrier island is leg-banding as numerous birds as humanly practical to study how the altering environment effects their migration.

Last fall, wildlife biologist Aaron Offered and a handful of assistants and volunteers banded their 80,000th bird on the island. The work has actually been continuous because 2009.

“That is a great deal of birds in 14 years,” Offered said on the early morning of Jan. 18 after banding lots of yellow-rumped warblers in a forested location of Kiawah.

The group attained another turning point this previous fall, too. They banded a record variety of birds at the west end of Kiawah Island: 5,709 brand-new birds of 86 various types.

Gray Catbirds were the most frequently captured. More than 1,100 were captured — a 6.9 percent boost from 2021 and 24.8 percent boost over the 10-year average.

Jointly, 8,664 birds were tagged throughout 2 websites on the island and launched back into the wild.

Regional Kiawah Island biologist Aaron Givens together with a couple of volunteers records bird information while banding in the winter season and fall along Captain Sams Spit

The little metal bands that are connected to the legs of each recorded bird consists of a unique number that permits biologists to monitor their motions in your area around the island throughout their stopovers.

“We’re seeing what birds are utilizing this environment, the length of time they’re remaining and when they’re here, are they placing on fat or not,” said Offered, who is a paid town staff worker. “If they are, that’s a good indicator that the environment has a great deal of food and things like that.”

Biologists here can discover more about the long-distance journeys of the types if they are recorded someplace aside from on Kiawah Island.

The procedure to do this work is not a basic one, however.

SECONDARY Kiawah bird banding02.JPG — Aaron Givens bands a sharp-shinned hawk at Kiawah’s west end of Captain Sams Spit on Jan. 18, 2023. Andrew J. Whitaker/Staff

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How it works

Kiawah’s biologists have webs on about 8 to 10 acres of personal property near the beach. They are spread out throughout locations where birds are most likely to move through, such as the edge of a kind of environment.

The 8-feet-tall webs are constantly left up however are closed and connected when not in usage so birds cannot get captured in them, Offered said. On banding days, the group satisfies prior to daybreak to get them open and all set for usage.

“We open the webs in the dark prior to it gets light since bird activity is high around dawn when birds awaken and begin to forage for food,” Offered said.

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More birds are typically captured in the early part of the early morning. The captures tend to decrease as the day goes on.

Birds are captured in 30 webs spread out throughout the west end of the island. And as soon as they are all open, volunteers constantly travel throughout the island, stopping at every one a number of times in one early morning.

The birds frequently do not see the opened webs till they’re ideal in front of them. And by that time, it is tough for them to modify their motions to prevent falling under the trap.

If a feathered animal is depending on the internet on any provided round, a staff member will put it in a bag, connect it to their belt, and head on to the next stop.

Everybody reconvenes at a makeshift work station in the woody location once each round is finished. While there, the group weighs each bird, look for fattiness and records any other essential recognizing attributes, like the sex and age of the types.

A little metal band with a number engraved into it is put on each animal’s leg prior to it is released once again.

Then the procedure of check webs resumes.

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The variety of animals captured and tagged in a single early morning can extremely. On their most effective day, Offered said he and the group recorded 460 birds in just a couple of hours. They balance about 50 to 55 catches daily throughout the fall.

“Everything depends upon the weather condition in the fall,” Offered said. “When the cold fronts move through, the birds move with them.”

There are stretches when they have a number of hectic days, and after that it might decrease.

The majority of Offered’s volunteers are long-lasting bird watchers, like retired Charleston resident Expense Kee.

Kiawah bird banding05.JPG — From left, Kristin Attinger, Ann McLean, Expense Kee and Aaron Givens record information while banding birds at Kiawah’s west end of Captain Sams Spit on Jan. 18, 2023. Andrew J. Whitaker/Staff

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“When I retired, I wished to do something fascinating however likewise something that added to bird science and aiding with comprehending birds…so that then legislation might be passed to safeguard the birds,” Kee said.

It’s harder to pass such legislation without information to support the requirement.

Kee deals with Offered and others on banding days to gather trapped birds from webs and file essential info about every one.

He became part of a group that recorded more than 120 yellow-rump warblers on the early morning of Jan. 18. In the winter season, Offered said that is among the most typical songbird types in the Lowcountry.

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“Among the factors they like this location is since they are among the couple of warbler types that have the capability to absorb the waxy finish on wax Myrtles berries,” Offered said.

Wax Myrtles are a popular shrub on the island.

Work to study bird types on Kiawah Island is continuous. Like with any banding job, Offered said this one is longterm since of a lot variation in information.

This is the town’s 13th winter season gathering information. Leaders there wish to figure out the quality of the environment for types, discover how they are utilizing it and whether sufficient food is available for them.

“The general objective is essentially to keep the environment that we have on Kiawah and make certain that it benefits the birds and other wildlife that’s utilizing it,” Offered said.