Escape to Kiawah!

Kiawah Island is known for its strict environmental standards.  All homes are built with care for the plants and animals that live here. 

In addition to birds, there are many exciting species of wildlife that make their homes on Kiawah Island and you are sure to see many of them during your stay!

Spring and early summer is denning season for the Island's resident bobcats. Small and shy, bobcats typically den in hollow logs, stumps, or thick patches of vegetation, and have an average of two kittens per litter. Island residents and guests have reported seeing bobcats on their porches, docks and yards!  What an exciting sight.  You can find more information about Kiawah's bobcats here.

Ospreys are large, fish-eating raptors which typically nest high in trees, but will readily nest atop manmade structures, such as telephone poles and nesting platforms. Ninety-nine percent of an osprey's diet consists of fish, thus nests are always located very close to water. Kiawah Island has quite a few osprey nests that are readily visible from roadways.  Click here for more information on Kiawah's birds of prey.

Endangered Loggerhead Sea Turtle nesting season runs from May until mid-August.  Turtle eggs begin hatching around mid-July and end around the end of October. Female turtles wait until dark to crawl up the sandy beach, select a spot above the high tide mark, excavate their nest, and deposit approximately 120 eggs. Over the next several months, as many as 300 nests will be laid along Kiawah's beach. In 2013, over 400 nests were laid!!! As summer draws to an end, swarms of baby turtles will head to the ocean under the cover of darkness where they will battle the odds to reach adulthood. Read about the important Loggerhead Sea Turtle here.

Kiawah is home to a very healthy population of American alligators. Alligators can be seen in almost all of the 180+ brackish and freshwater ponds which are interspersed throughout the island. Most alligators seen will be between 3-8 feet in length.  They will often be seen basking on pond edges in the sun in an attempt to warm their body temperature, especially during colder weather.

White-tailed deer are very adaptable creatures, equally at home in remote forests and fields as well as suburban neighborhoods. There have been some rare spotted or "piebald" deer sighted on the island this year.

Deer in suburban areas rapidly become accustomed to people and can be seen feeding in yards and along roadsides. Deer are most active around dawn and dusk. It is during these times that motorists on Kiawah Island should exercise extreme caution while driving. Planted roadsides attract deer and place them in close proximity to automobiles.  Please obey the posted speed limits. 

The island is also home to raccoons, mink, otters, squirrels and red and grey foxes, so please drive safely, especially at dawn and dusk when the animals are most active. 

A variety of marine mammals inhabit the ocean around Kiawah Island. The most common by far is the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Adult dolphins will be 6-10 feet in length and weigh up to 500 pounds or more. These dolphins can be seen frequently in the surf, inlet, rivers, and creeks surrounding Kiawah Island. One of the best spots to see dolphins is in Captain Sam's Inlet which separates Kiawah from Seabrook Island to the west. Dolphins can often be seen actively feeding in this area. Manatees have also been spotted near the inlet.

Click here to explore some wildlife and nature tours available during your vacation.

In September 2008, the National Wildlife Federation announced that all of Kiawah Island had met the necessary qualifications to become only the 29th certified Community Wildlife Habitat in the country!