Where to Bird

The following locations provide good, year-round birding opportunities and seasonal highlights. There are great place to go on your own for a day’s outing where you can enjoy beautiful surroundings and a variety of birds, nature and wildlife. Check tides before going to a beach or tideland.

Within Sun City

30-Minute drives

45-Minute Drive

90-Minute Drive

2+-hour Drive

Ace Basin Wildlife Management Area. From the early 1700s to mid 1800s, much of the ACE Basin was home to large plantations owned by a small number of individuals who managed their wetlands primarily to grow rice. After the rice culture declined in the late 1800s, wealthy sportsmen purchased many of these plantations as hunting retreats. The new owners successfully managed the former rice fields and adjacent upland estates for a wide range of wildlife.

The Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge helps protect the largest undeveloped estuary along the Atlantic Coast, with rich bottomland hardwoods and fresh and salt water marsh offering food and cover to a variety of wildlife.  ACE Basin stands for the Ashepoo, Combahee, and  Edisto Rivers, which form the estuary and parts of the Refuge boundary. The entire basin encompasses more than 350,000 acres, of which the Refuge comprises just less than 12,000 acres.

Directions

From Hwy. 17, take SC 174 (Signs will read “Edisto Beach” and “Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge”). Stay on SC 174 through Adams Run (174 will make a right turn in Adams Run). At the intersection with the flashing light (Signs will read “Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge”), turn right on to Willtown Road. Go approximately 2 miles, entrance road will be on the left (signs will read “Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge”). Office is located in the Plantation House approximately 2 miles down gravel road. 

Map of the site

Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge is one of the seven refuges administered as part of the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex.  The refuge is located in McIntosh County, Georgia, 45 miles south of the port city of Savannah.Archaeological and historical records show that many different populations have benefited from Harris Neck’s resources over the centuries: Guale Indians inhabited these areas, collecting fish, shellfish, and game, from 1500 – 1715 AD.  Beginning in 1750, English and Scottish settlers farmed the land intensively, producing many crops including renowned, high-quality Sea Island cotton.  

African-American families established a farming and shell-fishing community following the Civil War.  Their historic cemetery is still in use and can be visited from Barbour River Landing.  

In the early 20th century, tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard founded an estate that had a large mansion, formal gardens, and a dock for yachts.  During World War II, the U.S. military purchased the land for an airfield and pilot training facility.  Remnants of the runways can still be seen today. 

Since its designation as a wildlife refuge in 1962, Harris Neck has served as a premier nesting, foraging, and wintering habitat for many species of wildlife.  Signature species include wood storks, which nest in a large colony on Woody Pond, and the colorful and uncommon painted bunting, which favors nesting habitat in the refuge’s maritime scrub areas. 

The refuge encompasses six man-made freshwater ponds, as well as extensive salt marsh, open fields, forested wetlands, and mixed hardwood/pine forest.  This diversity of habitat makes the refuge an important resource for migratory birds (342 species of birds have been seen on the refuge and 83 species breed here).

• Experience the interactive exhibits located inside the Visitor Contact Station 
• View wildlife and habitat from the comfort of your vehicle by touring the 4-mile, paved wildlife drive. 
• Explore over 15 miles of hiking and bicycling trails. 
• During the summer months, check out the wading bird rookery at Woody Pond. 
• Look for remnants of Harris Neck’s rich history, including structures from the World War II Army Airfield and a fountain and reflecting pool that were part of the Lorillard Estate. 
• FREE Junior Refuge Manager program for children ages 5 – 12. 

Directions

Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge
Kimberly Hayes, Refuge Manager
5000 Wildlife Drive NE
Townsend, Georgia 31331
(912) 832-4608

From I-95, take Exit 67 (South Newport) and turn south onto U.S. Highway 17, towards Darien/Brunswick. In less than a mile, turn left onto Harris Neck Road (just past the Smallest Church in America). Continue on Harris Neck Road for approximately 7 miles to the refuge entrance on your left.

Francis Beidler Forest – South Carolina Audubon Sanctuary. As of January 2021, Biedler is closed until further notice in order that the COVID-19 virus does not spread. Check out their website before visiting.

The National Audubon Society’s Francis Beidler Forest in Four Holes Swamp contains within its 18,000+ acres, the largest remaining stand of virgin Bald Cypress/Tupelo Gum swamp forest left anywhere in the world. One thousand year-old trees and native wildlife abound in this pristine sanctuary that has been untouched for millennia. A 1.75 mile self-guided boardwalk trail (handicapped accessible) allows visitors the chance to safely venture deep into the heart of the swamp…to see it the way nature intended! Canoe trips and naturalist-guided walks and programs also are available seasonally and by reservation.

Address: 336 Sanctuary Rd, Harleyville, SC 29448

Magnolia Plantation and Audubon Swamp Gardens. Admission to enter. The Audubon Swamp Garden is a unique world where trees grow from the water, islands float, and everywhere wild creatures go about their secret lives. It boasts a diversity of living things almost unequaled anywhere else in America. Thousands of plant and animal species coexist amongst the cypress and tupelo gum trees, surrounded by blackwater. Each year, hundreds of egrets, herons, and other waterfowl nest within feet of the walking path. You can explore this wild and otherwise inaccessible landscape on boardwalks, bridges, and dikes.

Address: 3550 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC 29414

Santee National Wildlife Refuge. Santee National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,000-acre refuge alongside Lake Marion, an impoundment of the Santee River of Clarendon County, South Carolina. The refuge is especially important because its many wetlands support migratory birds.