Fripp Island Birds
Over 80 species of birds reside on Fripp Island. Birds travel from all over the country to visit Fripp during our warm summer season. The birds love Fripp so much that the National Audubon society named Fripp Island an Important Bird Area.
Some of the species you can view at Fripp are:
- Osprey
- White Ibis
- Red Throated Loon
- Black Skimmer
- Double Crested Cormorant
- Scoter
- Old Squaw
- Great Blue Heron
Visit the South Carolina Audubon Society for more information.
Want to learn more about bird species on Fripp? Check out a full list of the birds on Fripp Island.
In just a few very short weeks, #pipingplovers will be back on our beaches! Here’s a reminder of what to keep in mind as shorebirds begin to return from their migrations-
🛑 Be aware of beach rules (particularly involving dogs)! Rangers will be on patrol. If you want to bring your dog to a beach, refer to information on specific park websites. Some beaches just ask that your dog is leashed! Be respectful so as not to disturb other beach goers / shorebirds.
💭 Think about your actions! If you see an area is fenced off to protect shorebirds and the integrity of the dunes, don’t step in. Plover nests are extremely well camouflaged, and can be easily overlooked. If a plover or its nest is harassed/disturbed, it is a serious fined offense. Walk along the shore! 👣
🗣 Educate those around you! These regulations protecting our threatened and endangered birds do not mean your summer is ruined. There are many ways to enjoy the beach and coexist with our plover pals!
And most importantly of all, #sharetheshore!
In just a few very short weeks, #pipingplovers will be back on our beaches! Here’s a reminder of what to keep in mind as shorebirds begin to return from their migrations-
🛑 Be aware of beach rules (particularly involving dogs)! Rangers will be on patrol. If you want to bring your dog to a beach, refer to information on specific park websites. Some beaches just ask that your dog is leashed! Be respectful so as not to disturb other beach goers / shorebirds.
💭 Think about your actions! If you see an area is fenced off to protect shorebirds and the integrity of the dunes, don’t step in. Plover nests are extremely well camouflaged, and can be easily overlooked. If a plover or its nest is harassed/disturbed, it is a serious fined offense. Walk along the shore! 👣
🗣 Educate those around you! These regulations protecting our threatened and endangered birds do not mean your summer is ruined. There are many ways to enjoy the beach and coexist with our plover pals!
And most importantly of all, #sharetheshore!
• #ShareTheShore • this Piping Plover chick, pictured at 4 days old, is beating the odds. Its three siblings were taken by predators within a few days, but this little one has become adept at avoiding the plentiful ghost crabs that tip toe on their claws across the beach hoping to steal prey into their sandy tunnels. It responds to alarm calls from its parents, freezing and flattening to the ground, as an e-bike races across the beach at low tide. The fuzzy chick, smaller than a surf clam, remains motionless as the fat tires speed by just feet away from leaving the parents chick-less. Overhead, gulls and crows listen for the plover calls and search for flightless prey. On a busy weekend beach day, the chick navigates beach chairs, walkers and unleashed dogs, as it makes its way to the intertidal zone to eat. It’s not easy being a plover.
• #ShareTheShore • this Piping Plover chick, pictured at 4 days old, is beating the odds. Its three siblings were taken by predators within a few days, but this little one has become adept at avoiding the plentiful ghost crabs that tip toe on their claws across the beach hoping to steal prey into their sandy tunnels. It responds to alarm calls from its parents, freezing and flattening to the ground, as an e-bike races across the beach at low tide. The fuzzy chick, smaller than a surf clam, remains motionless as the fat tires speed by just feet away from leaving the parents chick-less. Overhead, gulls and crows listen for the plover calls and search for flightless prey. On a busy weekend beach day, the chick navigates beach chairs, walkers and unleashed dogs, as it makes its way to the intertidal zone to eat. It’s not easy being a plover.
“My job... is just beach.” - Westken snowy plover
Western snowy plovers are all about beach! Until September, these small, sparrow-sized shorebirds are hard at work incubating eggs and caring for their chicks. You can safely share the shore with these threatened birds by:
- Give wildlife space: do not approach or chase these birds.
- Respect all posted signs and roped-off areas for the protection of wildlife.
- Avoid prolonged picnicking or sunbathing in plover nesting habitat (dry sand areas above the wrack line).
- Walk on the wet hard-packed sand below the wrack line to avoid nesting habitat.
- Camp or build fires only in designated areas.
- If you’re on a beach that allows vehicles, drive ‘low and slow’, staying on the hard-packed sand below the high tide line where plovers forage.
- Avoid driving over old vehicle or foot tracks as plovers like to rest or “loaf” in these and are extremely hard to see.
- Avoid flying kites or other hovering objects near plover nesting habitat.
- Please dispose of all trash properly and do not inadvertently or intentionally feed wildlife.
- Know beach-specific dog rules before you go. If dogs are permitted, please follow the leash rules.
Thank you in advance!
🎨 by Rebecca Fabbri/USFWS
“My job... is just beach.” - Westken snowy plover
Western snowy plovers are all about beach! Until September, these small, sparrow-sized shorebirds are hard at work incubating eggs and caring for their chicks. You can safely share the shore with these threatened birds by:
- Give wildlife space: do not approach or chase these birds.
- Respect all posted signs and roped-off areas for the protection of wildlife.
- Avoid prolonged picnicking or sunbathing in plover nesting habitat (dry sand areas above the wrack line).
- Walk on the wet hard-packed sand below the wrack line to avoid nesting habitat.
- Camp or build fires only in designated areas.
- If you’re on a beach that allows vehicles, drive ‘low and slow’, staying on the hard-packed sand below the high tide line where plovers forage.
- Avoid driving over old vehicle or foot tracks as plovers like to rest or “loaf” in these and are extremely hard to see.
- Avoid flying kites or other hovering objects near plover nesting habitat.
- Please dispose of all trash properly and do not inadvertently or intentionally feed wildlife.
- Know beach-specific dog rules before you go. If dogs are permitted, please follow the leash rules.
Thank you in advance!
🎨 by Rebecca Fabbri/USFWS
Happy #sealsunday from Pepe the King Prawn, Miss Piggy, Kermit (in first video) and Statler (in the photo). All of our patients want to remind you that if you’re on the beach this holiday weekend be sure to #sharetheshore
#supportnonprofits #capecod #sealsofinstagram #sealpups #laborday
Happy #sealsunday from Pepe the King Prawn, Miss Piggy, Kermit (in first video) and Statler (in the photo). All of our patients want to remind you that if you’re on the beach this holiday weekend be sure to #sharetheshore
#supportnonprofits #capecod #sealsofinstagram #sealpups #laborday
Not all #leasttern nests end up inside of the protective string fencing, especially if their initial colony fails. These eggs were laid just a few feet outside of the fencing, where beachgoers would walk down to the water. Terns will nest in different areas if they lose their eggs due to predation or human disturbance, and sometimes those nests will be outside the perimeter of the protective fencing. Though researchers & shorebird surveyors will adjust the string fencing for shorebirds, be sure to #sharetheshore, and watch your step on the beach! 👣
Not all #leasttern nests end up inside of the protective string fencing, especially if their initial colony fails. These eggs were laid just a few feet outside of the fencing, where beachgoers would walk down to the water. Terns will nest in different areas if they lose their eggs due to predation or human disturbance, and sometimes those nests will be outside the perimeter of the protective fencing. Though researchers & shorebird surveyors will adjust the string fencing for shorebirds, be sure to #sharetheshore, and watch your step on the beach! 👣
I`m working on helping audubonconnecticut, following up to the Memorial Day weekend, with educating about shorebird and sharing the shore. This weekend will be a busy one, will be running a five-day campaign to talking about our #SharetheShore initiative. Day 1 of 5; Leave room for Nesting, American Oystercatchers are one of our focal species, they are currently nesting along our shores, some even have fledglings. Were trying to help them this weekend, with increased activity on the beach, these birds will feel more pressure with the decreased beach area. Were asking if you see species like, American Oystercatcher please try and give them as much distance as you can, we can all share the shore this weekend. audubonsociety
I`m working on helping audubonconnecticut, following up to the Memorial Day weekend, with educating about shorebird and sharing the shore. This weekend will be a busy one, will be running a five-day campaign to talking about our #SharetheShore initiative. Day 1 of 5; Leave room for Nesting, American Oystercatchers are one of our focal species, they are currently nesting along our shores, some even have fledglings. Were trying to help them this weekend, with increased activity on the beach, these birds will feel more pressure with the decreased beach area. Were asking if you see species like, American Oystercatcher please try and give them as much distance as you can, we can all share the shore this weekend. audubonsociety
Last week, as Green Bay, Wisconsin, geared up to host the 2025 NFL Draft, another long-awaited homecoming had locals buzzing—the return of the Great Lakes Piping Plovers. Most notably “Ms. Packer,” a federally endangered Great Lakes Piping Plover, returned to her nesting grounds. 💚
It was cause for celebration. That`s because in April 2024, she had returned to the site for what would have been her seventh breeding season but mysteriously vanished after about two weeks and was not seen again in 2024.
This year she`s been joined by two other Piping Plovers, including a male she`s paired with. And she`s already nesting!
Learn more about the work AudubonGreatLakes is doing to protect these endangered Piping Plovers—and what you can you do help them out this coming breeding season by tapping the link in our bio.
Ms. Packer on her first egg of this season. 📷: Logan Lasee (Note: This photo was taken as part of a monitoring project—remember to #ShareTheShore and give them their space by observing from a distance.)
Last week, as Green Bay, Wisconsin, geared up to host the 2025 NFL Draft, another long-awaited homecoming had locals buzzing—the return of the Great Lakes Piping Plovers. Most notably “Ms. Packer,” a federally endangered Great Lakes Piping Plover, returned to her nesting grounds. 💚
It was cause for celebration. That`s because in April 2024, she had returned to the site for what would have been her seventh breeding season but mysteriously vanished after about two weeks and was not seen again in 2024.
This year she`s been joined by two other Piping Plovers, including a male she`s paired with. And she`s already nesting!
Learn more about the work AudubonGreatLakes is doing to protect these endangered Piping Plovers—and what you can you do help them out this coming breeding season by tapping the link in our bio.
Ms. Packer on her first egg of this season. 📷: Logan Lasee (Note: This photo was taken as part of a monitoring project—remember to #ShareTheShore and give them their space by observing from a distance.)
This adorable little Piping Plover chick is a great reminder to #ShareTheShore with birds and other wildlife when you`re visiting the beach this weekend and throughout the summer! #🐣⠀
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Photo: Brian Kushner (bkushner2)
This adorable little Piping Plover chick is a great reminder to #ShareTheShore with birds and other wildlife when you`re visiting the beach this weekend and throughout the summer! #🐣⠀
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Photo: Brian Kushner (bkushner2)
Whether you love the beach for sunbathing, walking your dog, fishing, kayaking or boating, please remember to share the love with our coastal birds by sharing the shore. This year, a colony of Black Skimmers in Galveston Bay abandoned their nests after repeated disturbance from people getting too close to their nesting site. Help keep our feathered friends safe this summer!
#sharetheshore #Texas #conservation #potectthenest #Audubon #birds
Photo: Audubon Texas
Whether you love the beach for sunbathing, walking your dog, fishing, kayaking or boating, please remember to share the love with our coastal birds by sharing the shore. This year, a colony of Black Skimmers in Galveston Bay abandoned their nests after repeated disturbance from people getting too close to their nesting site. Help keep our feathered friends safe this summer!
#sharetheshore #Texas #conservation #potectthenest #Audubon #birds
Photo: Audubon Texas
Piping Plover chicks have been hatching throughout the Great Lakes region this summer, ushering in a particularly vulnerable time for these endangered shorebirds. 🐣
Adult Piping Plovers and their chicks face daily dangers, including disturbance from beachgoers, predators, and dogs off leashes. While many nesting locations are monitored frequently, the birds can’t be watched 24/7, which means it’s up to beachgoers to be aware of any plovers nesting nearby and the importance of giving them space to nest and rest.
That’s why AudubonGreatLakes and partners recently launched an education and outreach program to reach tourists and other new audiences in the area and encourage them to protect these shorebirds.
Tap the link in our bio to learn more about how this program aims to help beachgoers to #ShareTheShore!
A Great Lakes Piping Plover and its chick on the beach. 📷: John Doskoch
Piping Plover chicks have been hatching throughout the Great Lakes region this summer, ushering in a particularly vulnerable time for these endangered shorebirds. 🐣
Adult Piping Plovers and their chicks face daily dangers, including disturbance from beachgoers, predators, and dogs off leashes. While many nesting locations are monitored frequently, the birds can’t be watched 24/7, which means it’s up to beachgoers to be aware of any plovers nesting nearby and the importance of giving them space to nest and rest.
That’s why AudubonGreatLakes and partners recently launched an education and outreach program to reach tourists and other new audiences in the area and encourage them to protect these shorebirds.
Tap the link in our bio to learn more about how this program aims to help beachgoers to #ShareTheShore!
A Great Lakes Piping Plover and its chick on the beach. 📷: John Doskoch
The Fripp Island Resort offers two Birding Nature Tours. Please follow the link below to view the availible tours and scheduling information.
