WILDLIFE ON KIAWAH ISLAND

BREEDING BIRD POINT COUNTS
As part of the Kiawah Island Bird Monitoring Program, 218 point count surveys are conducted annually on Kiawah Island. The points are located across the island from Captain Sam’s Spit to Little Bear Island in all major upland cover types except for open dunes and beach.  For logistical convenience, a majority of the points are located on secondary and tertiary roads and trails, however in areas where roads or trails are not present points are located off-road.  The minimum distance between point-count stations is 250 meters in order to reduce the possibility of recording the same bird twice.  All individuals heard or seen within a 5 minute period are recorded.  Birds flying over the area are recorded separately from all other birds.  The point count survey is divided into 8 separate routes with each route consisting of 15-34 points.  One route is conducted per day during the count period with each route beginning at sunrise and ending no later than 11:00am.  Each route is conducted in the same order and during the same time period each year.      
RESULTS
 
 
 
 

SPECIES

RANKING (Based on Relative Abundance)

2012

2011

2010

2009

Carolina Chickadee

1

1

2

1

Northern Cardinal

2

4

3

2

Tufted Titmouse

3

3

5

3

Laughing Gull

4

2

1

5

Carolina Wren

5

6

3

4

Red-winged Blackbird

6

5

9

6

Blue Jay

7

10

6

9

American Crow

8

8

8

7

Great Crested Flycatcher

9

9

10

10

Common Grackle

10

7

7

8

Top 10 species recorded on point counts
3,036 individual birds
74 different species
218 points
kiawah_wildlife024004.gif
2009
View full species list including frequency of abundance and total numbers
 
3,060 individual birds
74 different species
218 points
2010
3,273 individual birds
75 different species
238 points
2011
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Town of Kiawah Island
21 Beachwalker Drive
Kiawah Island, SC 29455
(843) 768-9166
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News and Information
Wildlife Sightings and Information
 
NEW 2012 Bobcat GPS Location Data
 
FAQ about Kiawah Wildlife 
 
Google Earth map of wildlife sightings by residents and visitors
 
Kiawah Island Bird Checklist (PDF)
 
"Wildlife As We See It" provided by the Kiawah Island Golf Resort
 
Report an interesting or unusual wildlife sighting to Town Biologists
 
3,413 individual birds
74 different species
238 points
2012