Birding spots · North Carolina

Best Birding Spots in Dare County, North Carolina

Lighthouse Bay leads Dare County's birding spots with 236 species reported, best in fall. 111 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Lighthouse Bay	236	4,575	150	172	138	191
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (northwest)	225	1,318	114	113	86	177
Town of Duck - Duck Town Park Boardwalk	224	2,630	123	141	96	172
Pea Island	222	4,121	133	161	124	193
Pea Island (The Trench)	216	2,298	129	155	119	182
Cape Hatteras	216	1,295	124	163	126	136
Wreck Creek	199	914	119	125	110	164
Cape Hatteras National Seashore	198	1,306	111	148	137	123
Eagle Nest Bay	197	2,636	119	134	122	161
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge	182	1,703	113	98	93	159
Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve	175	1,597	94	140	77	130
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (northwest)	172	307	82	109	96	104
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (South Point)	170	1,223	111	81	82	124
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge	164	1,121	113	107	65	95
Cape Hatteras State Park	163	923	91	118	101	110
Pea Island (2)	162	978	101	99	92	127
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (northwest)	160	510	115	85	61	103
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (southwest)	159	913	122	111	68	91
Motts Creek	157	1,741	98	87	81	106
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (northwest)	153	730	59	114	97	81
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (west)	148	483	103	53	51	109
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (northwest)	147	1,024	96	60	59	110
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Motts Creek)	145	234	67	48	67	122
Run Hill State Natural Area	145	122	37	41	79	136
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (southeast)	144	522	102	89	55	88
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (north)	141	423	66	116	66	75
Port Ferinando (historical)	139	698	67	65	55	88
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Coquina Beach)	138	180	72	67	62	88
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (New Inlet (historical))	137	359	90	63	71	104
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (north)	135	360	69	94	55	76
Jeanette Sedge	133	548	61	79	37	95
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site	133	398	63	74	57	109
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (Goose Island)	132	446	75	63	67	83
Eagle Nest Bay (Goose Island)	130	761	89	79	62	97
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Buxton Woods)	129	479	68	65	72	38
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (Douglas Island)	127	292	87	53	54	87
Clarks Bay	124	299	47	55	58	91
Jockeys Ridge State Park	121	348	42	73	49	89
Eagle Nest Bay (Eagle Nest Point)	118	214	79	67	71	67
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (west)	116	194	46	71	58	57
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (west 2)	113	343	76	86	45	49
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (Green Island Channel)	112	380	69	40	25	74
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (north 2)	112	337	45	71	64	42
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (Fort Raleigh City)	110	342	43	68	38	86
Wright Brothers National Memorial	109	512	46	58	52	72
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (west 3)	109	122	45	57	41	66
Jeanette Sedge (Jennette Sedge)	108	181	41	79	23	46
Aunt Phoebes Marsh	107	593	57	61	34	72
Town of Kitty Hawk - Sandy Run Park	107	541	52	66	57	77
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (west)	107	251	40	48	57	46