Murrell’s Inlet is one of the most beautiful and unique estuaries along the South Carolina coast and has been openly shared by South Carolinians and visitors, alike, for many years. Murrell’s Inlet annually hosts birding rarities like purple sandpipers, Wilon’s plovers, red knots and piping plovers. These birds are among the 313 bird species that have coexisted with hunting in Murrell’s Inlet for many decades. Birders, hunters, rare birds and legal hunting have shared Murrell’s Inlet in the past and can continue to share Murrell’s Inlet without the need for a Bird Sanctuary designation.