pelicans

The Shorebirds are back at Bird Key

Every Summer sees the congregation of thousands of diverse shore birds on Bird Key, a small island in the Stono Inlet between Folly and Kiawah, managed by SC Department of Natural Resources. I notice that it is now being referred to as the Stono Seabird Sanctuary. Regardless, it is recognized as an important bird area by Audubon and it is forbidden to land on the island during nesting season. It makes for a great boat ride in the evening. Even the Stono Bridge looked beautiful in the late afternoon light.

Bird Key Stono Heritage Preserve

Through most of the year, this small barrier island is just another one of many off the coast of the Carolinas, but during breeding and nesting season, it comes alive with activity. The diversity of shorebirds that crowd this space is nothing short of mind boggling, and the cacophony of squawking is carried on the wind for some distance. The smell also alerts you to your imminent arrival at the shores of the island. It is illegal to land, and really you should not get close enough that you change the natural behavior of the birds. These are a few images from our boat trip out there yesterday evening.