When submitting eBird observations at Joseph Sylvia State Beach, it is most helpful to start a new checklist for each hotspot along the beach. Use the general hotspot when you have a checklist that includes multiple locations or if no other hotspot or personal location is appropriate for your sightings.

State Beach supports a diversity of nesting birds, including the federally threatened Piping Plover, the state species of special concern Least Tern, and the American Oystercatcher. 

The Nantucket Sound shoreline of State Beach is a very popular beach for families because there is a gradual slope into deeper water and the waves are usually small. On a hot summer day, parking places along the paved parking lane adjacent to the road are mostly full by 10 am. The Sengecontacket Pond shoreline is popular for walking and accessing productive shellfishing beds (you will need a town permit to harvest them).

Running the length of this two-mile-long beach is a state highway, an essential and very scenic transportation link between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown.