There are a variety of birds who live in and visit the Beaufort area. Some of the more common:

Laughing Gulls have distinctive black hoods with white over grey bodies. They have white around their eyes and a reddish beak and legs. Named for their distinctive call, which sounds like a person laughing, they congregate wherever there is food. Laughing gulls are year-round residents of Beaufort.

Great Egrets are large and white with up to 5 foot wingspans, long necks, and yellow beaks. They often nest in colonies with ibis and herons, either in trees or on dry ground near a marsh. (see photo)

White Ibis are bigger birds with long curved yellow beaks and longer legs. They can be found in trees or digging in the mud and marsh grasses.

Belted Kingfishers are big birds with large crested bluish grey heads, long sharp beaks, white bands around the neck, and white bellies. They are solitary and can often be seen watching the water for fish.

Brown Pelicans have characteristic long necks, large bills and stretchy throat pockets for catching fish. They often fly in groups in formation, sometimes very close to the water, skimming the tops of the waves, looking for fish.

Sanderlings are the little whitish sandpipers with a shoulder patch and black legs and bills that you see on the shore running up and down, probing the sand just above the waves. They are common on beaches around the world in the fall and winter. In the summer most migrate far north to breed in the arctic.