Kayakers need to be especially careful not to get too close to, or to spook, shorebirds and wading birds. Unfortunately one sees it happening more and more these days, in rare cases by birders in kayaks.

Here in coastal SC, with increasing numbers of sea kayakers on the water, going to heretofore hard-to-reach places, the pressure on our shorebirds and wading birds is increasing. As an example, until SC DNR recently closed Crab Bank in Charleston Harbor from humans landing, nature lovers arriving in sea kayaks were about as much a disturbance to nesting seabirds and roosting shorebirds as boaters, fishermen
and partyers were.

And all coastal boaters need to be especially careful at sensitive / vulnerable times like high tide roosts.

The natural urge is to pull up to that pretty shell bank out in the bay to try to photograph Oystercatchers or to pull up on remote sandbars to admire the view.

But places like that become scarce around high tide, especially lunar tides, and shorebirds have limited options for places to safely wait out the high water.

Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC