Howdy all,
I have received quite a few emails asking about information about the banding
station. So I will just address some of those questions here to inform everyone.
Can I/we visit the banding station?
YES! The banding station is open to the pubic seven days a week and we
encourage people to come visit! We are netting from about 30 minutes before
sunrise (currently 6am-ish) to 6-8 hours after that. We have been closing the
station about 1 pm recently.
How do I/we get to the banding station?
The banding station is located inside the Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern
Shore, about five miles north of the CBBT on highway 13. Follow signs to the
state park. After passing the contact station at the entrance of the park, take
the first left and park in the parking lot there. There is a dirt road from the
parking lot that will lead you to the taller trees to the south (left). Follow
this road until you reach the butterfly garden. At the garden, go to the left
and follow the trail about 100 yards. You will see the banding station off to
the right underneath a shelter. From the parking lot, it takes 3-5 minutes, at
most, to walk to the banding station, on mowed grass and or/dirt.
When is the best time to visit the banding station?
The earlier in the morning, the better. Our first net run is about 6:45 or 7 am
so no need to be there before then. We do net runs every 45 minutes if the
weather is good. In hot, cold, windy, or sprinkling conditions, we might go
more frequently. Most of the birds caught in a day are usually before 10-11am.
After that, capture rates drop off pretty sharply.
Right after a cold front is another great time to visit the banding station.
After a cold front passes, there is usually a large increase in the number of
birds in the area.
If you are wanting to see a larger diversity, then later September to early
October is the time to visit. There will be a wide range of migrants coming
through at that time.
If you are into numbers and not so much for diversity, then middle to late
October is the time for you. That is then the Yellow-rumped Warblers are making
their presents felt.
--As a side note, please remember that during high capture days, we will be
very busy doing our jobs. We might not have the time to answer all questions
visitors might have. Please respect that.
When is the banding station open? How long into the fall will you be banding?
We band seven days a week, weather permitting. And you are more than welcome to
visit at any point.
The banding station will be ran from now until the 22nd of November.
Can we follow you on net runs?
We ask that you please stay on the main North-South trail and watch from there.
Our nets are (as a whole) close to this trail and you can watch us extract
birds from there. Now and then we will allow some visitors to come with us.
Some of the reasons we really don't want visitors to follow us, is that one,
the nets are very fragile, expensive, and snag on everything. You have to be
careful when walking by a net that a button does not get snagged and rip a hole
in the net, and two, we are trying to catch birds in the nets and by having a
lot of people walking around the net lanes, it will scare birds out of the
area.
I hope this answers a few of the questions some of you might have about the
banding station. We highly recommend visiting the banding station and staying
for a while. We have a few brochures at the station and on most days, we can
answer questions you might have about banding, birds, habitat, and whatever
might be on your mind!
I really hope to see a lot of you at the banding station this fall! Migration
is picking up and shaping up to be a good fall. Hope you can come enjoy the
magic at Kiptopeke!
Cheers,
Jethro Runco
Head Bander
Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory
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