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The migratory warblers that fly thousands of miles during migration are looking for places like the maritime forest on Sullivan’s Island as a brief resting place. Biologist Sarah Harper is the director and permit holder for the Sullivan’s Island Bird Banding Station (SIBBS), conducting seasonal migratory bird research and environmental outreach. The busy fall migration season begins on Sept.
1 and will come to a close on Nov. 20 and Harper has been in the field with her team of dedicated volunteers most days for early morning bird banding and record keeping. The first ever Fundraiser for SIBBS will be held at The Sullivan’s Island Club near Station 16 on Saturday, Nov.
2 from 1–4 p.m. The Sullivan’s Island Bird Banding Station has been under Harper’s directions since 2020, and as a Sullivan’s Island native she has a long-time knowledge regarding areas found in these extensive dunes.
The banding station is located on land owned by the Town of Sullivan’s Island, and Harper works with town officials to set a seasonal schedule, and conducts outreach at events like the SI Earth Day Celebration. A yellow-billed cuckoo is fitted with a leg band on Oct 15 at the Sullivan's Island Bird Banding Station. A fundraiser on Nov.
2 will support the efforts to band and track coastal migratory birds. The bird-banding station uses mist nets to quickly and safely capture small migratory birds in the dunes during migration, and these nets must be set up and taken down daily since they are in a public area. The wear and tear on these nets is part of the reason for the fundraiser, with plans to purchase new nets for the future.
"Each morning in season we arrive just after dawn to set up the mist nets, and we plan to band birds until about 10:30 or until the temps get too hot to conduct banding,” said Harper. "We keep track of the time elapsed between checking of the nets, so we can ensure no birds are left in the net for long. They are retrieved to the banding station in a small bag, and I place a leg band on the bird and record specific data for future reference.
We record bird species, weight of the bird, sex of the bird, wing feather length, molt limit, age and even record the fat reserve on the bird to gauge if it is in good shape for migration. I am hands on with the bird, so I’ll have a volunteer sitting beside me recording all this in our logbook." Each year Harper is able to train volunteers to help at the station as the season progresses, and the day I joined them on Oct.
15, it was Mary English keeping the records. "I wasn’t really a birder, but as a Sullivan's Island resident, I liked the early morning outdoors schedule and so I sewed some of the bird transportation bags and also became a scribe," said English. Other volunteers scurried in and out of sight combing the scrub shrub habitat that brings in these birds like a magnet.
The birds that were banded that day included indigo bunting, Western palm warbler, yellow-billed cuckoo, catbird, and a golden-crowned kinglet, to name a few. Yellow-rumped warblers, common yellowthroat and catbirds can be found in high numbers here over an entire fall season. Preservation of this Sullivan’s Island habitat is more important now than ever for migratory birds, not to mention for native plant species, and anyone can visit the Sullivan's Island Nature Trail at Station 16.
The fundraiser on Nov. 2 is a great way to support this nonprofit research organization, and tickets include food, drink and live music. The Sullivan's Island Club is located at 1452 Poe Ave.
Get tickets here or email [email protected] for more information..
