Sullivan's Island Bird Banding Station

Sullivan's Island Bird Banding Station We are a program for migratory bird research and environmental education. Welcome to the Sullivan's Island Bird Banding Station.

We are currently operating a seasonal bird banding program in the protected land on Sullivan's Island. We are studying Neotropical migratory bird populations. During the Fall season, the protected land on Sullivan's Island is a migration stopover location for many birds during their long journeys from their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada to their wintering grounds in the Caribbea

n, Central, or South America. Our education program provides Biological Sciences programming in local schools, including in-school activities, after-school programming, field trips, and banding demonstrations.

We have had an exciting start to our Spring season! We have been collecting some amazing site fidelity data for overwint...
04/15/2026

We have had an exciting start to our Spring season! We have been collecting some amazing site fidelity data for overwintering birds. One White-throated Sparrow returned from last year and another from 2023. A Gray Catbird also returned that was originally banded in 2024. These birds are returning to the Protected Land on Sullivan's Island year after year. We can only hope to recapture our Painted Bunting from 2020 for the 7th year in a row. The Painted Buntings are just returning here from the Caribbean and Central America to breed. Fingers crossed we will recapture him this season!

Sometimes we catch birds with birth defects or old healed injuries. Myrtle warblers are hardy birds. This female had amp...
11/17/2025

Sometimes we catch birds with birth defects or old healed injuries. Myrtle warblers are hardy birds. This female had ample fat stores and flew off stealthily through a myrtle/cedar thicket. It appears that this bird lost an eye due to an old accident or encounter with a predator, but she is able to forage and fly just fine! She may have even migrated with one eye! Normally we don't anthropomorphize birds by naming them, but this time we will make an exception: Meet One-eyed Myrtle! 🙂

We banded two hawks today! We also recaptured two winter residents that came back to overwinter for another year. See ph...
11/13/2025

We banded two hawks today! We also recaptured two winter residents that came back to overwinter for another year. See photo captions for more info.

Fall migration is picking up speed here at SIBBS! We banded 26 birds of 12 different species. See photos below for more ...
09/10/2025

Fall migration is picking up speed here at SIBBS! We banded 26 birds of 12 different species. See photos below for more info.

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Station 16 S
Sullivan's Island, SC
29482

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