Edisto Beach State Park
Robin Carter
Directions
From US 17 in Osborn (western Charleston County) go south on SC 174 for about 22 miles to the entrance for beach portion of the state park on the left, immediately after crossing a salt marsh and entering Edisto Beach.
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), Northern Gannet (w), Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Osprey, Clapper Rail, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Willet, Whimbrel (spring, fall), Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Bonaparte's Gull (w), Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Gull-billed Tern (s), Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern (s), Least Tern (s), Eurasian Collared-Dove, Great Horned Owl, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue-headed Vireo (w), Orange-crowned Warbler (w), Northern Parula (s), Yellow Warbler (fall), Chestnut-sided Warbler (fall), Magnolia Warbler (fall), Cape May Warbler (spring), Black-throated Blue Warbler (spring, fall), Yellow-rumped Warbler (w), Black-throated Green Warbler (spring, fall), Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler (fall), Palm Warbler (w), Blackpoll Warbler (spring), Black-and-white Warbler (w), American Redstart (spring, fall), Ovenbird (spring, fall), Northern Waterthrush (spring, fall), Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler (s), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (spring, fall)
Description
The dry portion of Edisto Beach State Park is in two parts, separated by a salt marsh. Along the ocean you will find beach, a few dunes, and a scrubby woodland of live oaks. Inland from the beach there is a large area of maritime forest, dominated by live oaks and sabal palmetto (also known as cabbage palmetto—the state tree of South Carolina). A new nature center is found in the maritime forest and has a short boardwalk over a bit of salt marsh to a salt creek.
The maritime forest is one of the better places along the South Carolina coast to find migrant warblers, flycatchers, and vireos, especially in the fall. The salt marsh attracts large numbers of migrating Whimbrels in May.