Wrightsville Beach Bird Stewards

Our Goals

Protecting beach-nesting birds on the south end of Wrightsville Beach while raising awareness about coastal birds and the challenges they face.

What We’re Doing

Monitoring the sanctuary to prevent disturbances that could harm eggs and chicks, while educating the public about the unique nesting habits of birds like Least Terns and Black Skimmers.

Get Involved

Least Tern adults and chicks. Photo: Ethan Slattery/Audubon Photography Awards

Least Terns. Photo: Ethan Slattery/Audubon Photography Awards

In the gap between the crowded development of Wrightsville Beach and the blue waters of Masonboro Inlet sits a patch of open bare sand, a habitat vital to our beach-nesting coastal birds.

The 4-acre sanctuary is the most accessible and visible throughout our network of coastal sanctuaries, which makes monitoring for disturbances during nesting season even more important. 

Every summer, Audubon North Carolina recruits volunteers to educate beachgoers about the birds on the south end of Wrightsville Beach. They show visitors newborn chicks in spotting scopes and explain how even brief disturbances cause parent birds to flush, exposing eggs and young to heat stress and predators. The stewards take this responsibility seriously while also having fun fostering excitement and appreciation for bird conservation among residents and visitors.

Equipped with their binoculars and spotting scopes, stewards show thousands of visitors how well eggs are camouflaged in simple nests made of sand and how important it is to observe the symbolic fencing that protects these bird nurseries.

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