Every winter, these endangered birds make their home on Hilton Head
As the summer comes to a close and Hilton Head’s tourists head home, one small, stocky shorebird takes a cue from the island’s retirees who filter in to enjoy the mild winter months.
Local birders have spotted the arrival of piping plovers on Hilton Head’s Fish Haul Beach. The birds are either on their annual migration south for the winter, or simply staying the whole season. The endangered and threatened species make their home for the winter on the island’s northern beaches, taking the opportunity to relax and fill their bellies.
Hilton Head plays host to a number of different shorebirds, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers two of those species to be endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act: the piping plover and the rufa red knot.
To easily track the birds, conservation groups put bands on the legs of piping plovers when they’re young. Mary Alice Tartler, Audubon master birder and Hilton Head resident, photographed a female with yellow and orange bands in 2023. The bird, named Yo Yo, was raised in captivity after her egg was laid in a dangerous section of a park in Michigan. Fish Haul Beach was her first winter home, and she’s returned many times.
Hilton Head receives piping plovers from a number of different locations around the United States and Canada. They breed in the Great Plains, around the Great Lakes and along the North East coast of the U.S, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Great Lakes population is endangered, while the other two populations are listed as threatened.
Fashion is the cause of their initial decline. In the late 19th century, millions of birds across the country were killed for their feathers, which women then used to decorate hats. Piping plovers didn’t have the colorful plumage of other tropical birds, but their fluffy, white down was a popular addition to the hats, Tartler said.
According to the Great Lakes Piping Plover conservation group, erosion of beach habitat and the rise in beach recreation also limit their nesting grounds around the Great Lakes.
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 1:37 PM.
