Bird Island is approximately adjacent to the town of

Sunset Beach, North Carolina Sunset Beach is a seaside town in Brunswick County, North Carolina, Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,572 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 1,824 in 2000 United States census, 2000 census. ...

, US. Sunset Beach is on a barrier island and is the southernmost town in North Carolina. Bird Island can be reached by walking along the seashore toward the

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

border. Due to the contour of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

Coast at this point, the direction of travel to Bird Island is approximately West-Southwest. Previously, Bird Island was separated from Sunset Beach by a tidal creek (Mad Inlet) that could be easily crossed only at low tide. Accretion of ocean sand (due to hurricane activity in the 1990s as well as environmental activity to fill in dune grass) has gradually filled in the tidal creek so that two separate islands became one.

Preservation

Bird Island was privately owned prior to 2002. The shoreline, dunes, and marshland of Bird Island provide important habitat and nesting for species that are endangered, threatened, or of special concern, including the

Kemp's ridley Kemp's ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys kempii)'', also called commonly the Atlantic ridley sea turtle, Kemp's ridley turtle, and Kemp's ridley, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. ''L. kempii'' is the rarest species of sea tur ...

and

loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of sea turtle, oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around ...

s. Although there was no vehicular access to this land, there was the threat that the land might some day be developed. The state of North Carolina used $4.2 million of public and private funding to purchase the land and create a coastal reserve, administered by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management.

References

External links

Bird Island Reserve
at NC Coastal Reserve

* https://web.archive.org/web/20071025011347/http://www.wilmingtontoday.com/Nature/Preserves/BirdIsland.html {{authority control Protected areas of Brunswick County, North Carolina Cape Fear (region) Nature reserves in North Carolina Beaches of North Carolina Barrier islands of North Carolina