Folly Beach Old Coast Guard Station
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[edit] Directions
From US 17 west of the Ashley River in Charleston, or from the junction of SC 30 and SC 171, Folly Road, on James Island, go south on SC 171, Folly Road, until you reach Folly Beach. Once in Folly Beach turn left (east) onto East Ashley Avenue and follow it to its end at the entrance to the area, which is a part of Folly Beach County Park. There is a small beach access parking lot near the entrance to the area. If this parking lot is full you will have to park farther away and walk the rest of the way, either along the road or along the beach.
[edit] Birds to look for
Lesser Scaup (w), Surf Scoter (w), White-winged Scoter (w), Black Scoter (w), Bufflehead (w), Hooded Merganser (w), Red-breasted Merganser (w), Red-throated Loon (w), Common Loon (w), Horned Grebe (w), Red-necked Grebe (w), Northern Gannet (w), Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (s), White Ibis, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Black-bellied Plover, Wilson’s Plover (s), Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher, Willet, Whimbrel (spring, fall), Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper (spring, fall), Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Purple Sandpiper (w), Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull (w), Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull (w), Gull-billed Tern (s), Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern (s), Common Tern (spring, fall), Forster's Tern, Least Tern (s), Black Skimmer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Loggerhead Shrike, Orange-crowned Warbler (w), Yellow Warbler (spring, fall), Black-throated Blue Warbler (spring, fall), Yellow-rumped Warbler (w), Prairie Warbler (spring, fall), Palm Warbler (w), Clay-colored Sparrow (fall), Lark Sparrow (fall), Savannah Sparrow (w), Painted Bunting (s)
[edit] Description
Once you find a place to park (tough, especially on weekends and during the summer) birding the Old Coast Guard Station at the north end of Folly Beach is easy and fun. Check the scrub for passerine migrants, the grassy areas for good sparrows, the inlet and its sand bars for gulls and terns. There is also a rocky groin that sometimes has a Purple Sandpiper in winter and an ocean beach. There is a lot here in a very small area. Many rarities have been found here over the years.
You can give the area a quick look in less than an hour, or you can spend an entire day checking out its many possibilities.
[edit] Links
Cape Romain Bird Observatory (bird finding info)
