Bird Key - Stono Heritage Preserve
Contact Information
SC Department of Natural ResourcesHeritage Trust Program
PO Box 167
Columbia, SC 29202
(803) 734-3886 (Columbia)
Hours of Operation
Due to bird nesting activity, this Preserve is closed to public use from March 15 thru October 15. The area may be viewed from boats during these months and is accessible to the public below the high water tidal line from October 16 thru March 14.
Contributions to the Endangered Wildlife Fund on the South Carolina Income Tax Form help to make the identification and management of these preserves possible.
Important Information for Visitors
Photographs
Description
The preserve provides nesting, roosting and foraging habitat for a variety of sea and shore birds. Beginning in the mid-1980’s, thousands of eastern brown pelicans, several species of terns, black skimmers, laughing gulls, two species of herons and other incidental species successfully nested on Bird Key Stono every year. From the late 1980’s to 1994, the island supported the largest number of nesting eastern brown pelicans in the range of the species.
The preserve is a sandspit island formed by deposits from associated river systems. It shifts in position and structure due to erosion and deposition of sand. Bird Key Stono supports colonies of nesting waterbirds because of its isolated nature and lack of mammalian predators.