Can I walk into the bird sanctuary?
No. It is a protected heronry. Watch from outside the protected area rather than walking in.
Oceanfront dunes
Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary
A protected heronry in the dunes, set aside for nesting birds.
The Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary is a protected heronry in the oceanfront dunes. It is set aside for nesting birds, including herons and egrets.
The way to see it is from outside the protected area. It is not a trail to walk through the nesting ground.
How to visit
Stay outside the protected area. The dunes here are nesting habitat, not a park path. Observe from the boundary rather than entering.
The sanctuary sits on the ocean side of town. The swimming beach beside that shoreline is still the borough beach. Summer beach tags follow borough rules when you are on the beach itself.
What this page does not add
Tour schedules, a species checklist, and entrance fees are not published here. If a group or the borough posts a current program, use that source.
An oceanfront rental is not a ticket into the sanctuary. The protected area stays protected no matter which house is next door.
Questions
Common questions
Is the sanctuary the same as the beach?
It is in the oceanfront dunes beside the Atlantic shoreline. The beach itself is the borough beach, with its own tag rules in summer.
Keep reading
Related pages
Beaches
Dune crossings and summer tags along the same shoreline.
Beach guide
How entrances and tags work on a beach day.
Things to do
The rest of the island beyond the dunes.
Oceanfront rentals
Homes on the ocean side, facing the Atlantic.