Here are some more images from our boat trip to Bird Key – Stono. Following up on my previous post, we didn’t see any chicks, but did see some amazing activity, including this Brown Pelican poised for a dive.

Landing on the island is not allowed during nesting season. In addition to the Brown Pelicans, numerous shore birds including Laughing Gulls and Oyster Catchers nest here.

Dogs are never welcome.

The shape of the island is constantly changing, with Pelicans hanging around on all sides, resting or grooming.

This expanse of sand that faces the open ocean has recently expanded but is extremely vulnerable to storm surge as well as the normal accreting and depletion that all ocean facing beaches experience.

June 14, 2025

Bird Key – Stono, a barrier island that sits in the mouth of South Carolina’s Stono River, between Kiawah and Folly Islands.

All photos taken from a boat.

Ted and I had the opportunity in June to take a guided boat adventure to see juvenile Pelicans. This year we were back at Bird Key – Stono Seabird Sanctuary which failed as a breeding colony last year due to predator activity.

A number of Brown Pelicans were sitting on nests at the top of a dune and unfortunately chicks were not visible, and may not have hatched yet.

We did get some nice in-flight sightings on the boat trip out.

And some Pelicans that weren’t on nest duty were standing around on the beach.

This beauty glided by us as we were making the return trip to land.

June 14, 2025

Bird Key – Stono, a barrier island that sits in the mouth of South Carolina’s Stono River, between Kiawah and Folly Islands.

All photos taken from a boat.

Ted and I went on the same guided boat adventure as last year to see the juvenile Pelicans at Bird Key Stono Seabird Sanctuary. This trip was much earlier in the young birds’ lives as they are still in the nests.

These pictures are taken from a bobbing boat; I did learn from last year and upped my shutter speed to 1/1600.

There are thousands of birds on this island right now, and as you might expect there were always some in flight. The parents have to go for food, and swoop in and out constantly.

The chicks are still in the nests, which are collections of sticks/reeds, with the young being protected by an adult from the sun. As you can see in the center top a few are starting to move around.

Laughing Gulls are also nesting here and were flying all over, constantly chattering.

June 1, 2022

Bird Key, not much more than a sandbar, is a barrier island that sits in the mouth of the Stono River, between Kiawah and Folly Islands.