Bird Island is an uninhabited island of a 1200-acre nature preserve walkable along the beach.A mailbox is the only structure, with flora and fauna the only life, on Bird Island which stretches between the Brunswick County beaches of North Carolina and South Carolina’s Grand Strand leading to Myrtle Beach.

The barrier island is only accessible from Sunset Beach and is a mile and a quarter walk to the state line where the next quarter mile is actually in South Carolina.

Among the 260 species of birds documented here, the rare Reddish Egret can be seen along the open beach often in August. This large wading bird may be spotted flapping around to startle its prey. The Purple Sandpiper is found exclusively here at the jetty at the state line. Other rare plants and animals, including nesting loggerhead turtles, choose the beach and dunes of Bird Island for an undisturbed existence.

Owned and protected by the state, the coastal reserve is monitored by scientists for long-term changes.