Event is Free but pleas RSVP!
Where to Meet/Park:
Fish Haul Beach Park, 124 Mitchelville Road, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926. Meet near the beach access at the end of the parking lot. Parking is available onsite. For current parking information, visit the Town of Hilton Head Island’s parking page.
What to Expect:
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Join Allie Hayser, shorebird biologist with Manomet’s Georgia Bight Shorebird Conservation Initiative, to learn why Fish Haul Beach and Port Royal Sound are so important to shorebirds throughout the year. These areas provide critical places for migrating birds to rest and refuel, as well as habitat for species that spend the winter along our coast.
The walk will highlight the creation of Fish Haul’s new Wildlife Beach Area and the partnerships working to protect this habitat while keeping the surrounding shoreline open for the community to enjoy. This small section of shoreline, about the size of two football fields, was created to provide shorebirds with a safer and quieter place to feed and roost. Visitors and their dogs can continue to enjoy the rest of the shoreline while helping protect this important area for threatened and endangered species. Participants will learn how to be good hosts and neighbors to migrating and wintering birds and how to get involved in local shorebird conservation.
Endangered Piping Plovers winter on Hilton Head Island from late summer through early spring. Birds from all three breeding populations use Fish Haul Beach Park and the Mitchellville mudflats, relying on quiet beaches to rest and feed before returning north to nest. Threatened shorebirds such as Red Knots also use this area to feed at lower tides during spring and fall migration as they travel between South America and the Arctic.
Birders of all experience levels are welcome! Open to public, but please register!
Distance: Up to 1.5 miles. We will be walking on sand and may encounter muddy or wet areas, so please wear comfortable shoes that can get sandy or wet.
What to Bring: Water, binoculars, sunscreen, insect repellent, and a notebook if you would like one. We will provide a spotting scope for the group to use.
Biography:
Allie Hayser is a shorebird biologist with Manomet Conservation Science’s Georgia Bight Shorebird Conservation Initiative, where she works along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts to support shorebird conservation through research, outreach, and community partnerships. Her work focuses on reducing disturbance to migrating shorebirds, understanding the connection between shorebirds and horseshoe crab populations, supporting ecotourism through science-based education, and developing stewardship programs that build local pride and engagement.
She leads monitoring and disturbance surveys at key coastal sites, including Fish Haul Beach, collaborates with researchers studying Red Knots, Whimbrels, and other migrants, and creates educational materials and signage to help communities better understand the birds that rely on these beaches. Allie also coordinates volunteer programs and partners with schools, nonprofits, and ecotourism guides to strengthen awareness and support for coastal conservation.
A Tybee Island native, she has worked with sea turtles, horseshoe crabs, and coastal wildlife programs across the United States and is passionate about helping communities feel connected to shorebirds and the habitats we all share.
