Folly Beach Preservation, Nature and Wildlife

As a natural barrier island on the Atlantic coast, Folly Beach is a result of repeated sand deposits from the Longshore Current which constantly flows into Folly Island from the northeast.  The island and its wildlife exists within a natural cycle of erosion and sediment deposition.  Throughout its existence, the shape of the Folly Beach shoreline profile has morphed and undulated as sediment erodes into and deposits from the ocean.  Besides beachfront, Folly Island has natural dunes, vegetated terrains, maritime forest and a network of swamps and estuaries.

Birds
Dolphins
Re-nourishment
Sand Dunes
Turtles

Birds

Bird watching and bird photography is popular on Folly Beach, Folly River and the nearby marshes.  Here is a list of birds you may see around Folly Beach.
 

Brown Pelican -endangered species
Black legged Kittiwake
Bonapartes Gull
Black Skimmer
Bairds Sandpiper
American Avocet
Black necked Stilt
Brown headed Cowbird
Common Loon
Common Merganser
Common Moorhen
Clapper Rail
Dunlin
Coopers Hawk
Killdeer
Hooded Merganser
Piping Plover
Marbled Godwit
Pectoral Sandpiper
Parasitic Jaeger
Purple Gallinule
Painted Bunting
Hudsonian Godwit
Peregrine Falcon
Common Grackle
Ruddy Turnstone
Oystercatcher
Royal Tern
Red Breasted Merganser
Ring billed Gull
Red-necked-Phalarope
Red necked Phalarope
Red Phalarope
Red Knot
Rock Dove
Sabines Gull
Sora
Surf Scooter
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Great Blue Heron
Greater Yellowlegs
Snowy Egret
Short billed Dowitcher
Great Egret
Lesser Black backed Gull
Long tailed Jaeger
Gannet
Least Sandpiper
Forster's Tern
Least Bittern
Laughing Gull
Sandhill Crane
Scarlet Tanager
Sanderling

Sandwich Tern
Swallow-Tailed Kite
Semipalmated Plover Ruff
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Tricolored Heron
King Rail
Yellow Rail
White Tailled Kite
White rumped Sandpiper
Glaucous Gull
Fish Crow
Long billed Curlew
Long billed Dowitcher
Lesser Scaup
Grebe
White Ibis
Western Sandpiper
Virginia Rail
Black Rail
Whimbrel
Willet
Wilson's-Snipe
Wilson's-Phalarope
Northern Lapwing
American Kestrel
American Crow
American Tree Sparrow
American Goldfinch
Bald Eagle
Buff breasted Sandpiper
Boat tailed Grackle
Band tailed Pigeon
Barn Swallow
Bullock's Oriole
Black headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Black chinned Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Broad billed Hummingbird
Bells Vireo
Brewer's Blackbird
Black Vulture
Chipping Sparrow
Carolina Chickadee
Cliff Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
Common Yellowthroat Warbler
Common Redpoll
Dark eyed Junco
Common Raven
Horned Lark
House Finch
Fox Sparrow
Golden crowned Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Green tailed Towhee

To see beautiful color photos of these birds, please visit the Birds of Folly Beach.

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Dolphins

Grey bottlenose dolphins populate the waters around Folly Beach.  They look just like "Flipper" and you can see them all around the beach, the river, and the ocean.  Some Folly locals will argue that they may be porpoises.  Dolphins and porpoises are of the same scientific group, cetacia.  The differences are in the teeth and the noise they make.  Dolphins have a larger dorsal fin and a distinct snout.  The porpoise dorsal fin is smaller, triangular and blunt. Their heads are smaller, rounded and have a very short beak.  Dolphins make a noise that can be heard by humans.  Porpoises make noises above the range of human hearing.  The final major difference is in personality.  Porpoises are afraid of humans and spend their time hunting and eating.  Dolphins, on the other hand are friendly and playful.  On a calm day, when the water is glassy, you can watch dolphins jumping around and playing for hours.  Sometimes you'll even see a dolphin ride the bow wave in front of a boat, like a surfer!

I great way to see dolphins is from a kayak.  Check out some of the kayaking tours on our Recreation / Fun page.

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Re-nourishment

Due to ocean currents, sand and sediment around Folly Beach and other Charleston barrier islands has a tendency to move around.  Since the late 1800s, engineers have done a few things to maintain the sediment dynamics around the harbors, beaches and river inlets.  Most erosion solutions are not permanent.  Depending on the aggressiveness of the tactic, it may last a few decades or a few years.

By 1898, construction of two ocean floor walls called jetties was completed, extending 3 miles into the ocean from Morris Island and Sullivans Island.  The jetties were huge walls that kept sediment from collecting in the Charleston Harbor entrance while growing the beaches of Morris Island and Folly Island.  This positive effect from the Charleston Harbor Jetties lasted for 30 years.  Then, in the 1940s and 1950s, rows of smaller walls, called groins were constructed in a series 500 feet apart and extending out from Folly Beach into the ocean.  By collecting sand in one location, erosion is caused on beaches down current.  The Folly Beach groins remained intact and functioning until they were destroyed in 1989.  One engineering tactic that remains in place today is the seawall.  A seawall is built along the beach in front of buildings, preventing any erosion behind the wall.  A sea wall exists today, protecting the Holiday Inn on Folly Beach from erosion.  Unfortunately, any beach in front of the wall is quickly eroded as waves reflect off the hard wall and pull sand away, into the ocean.

We currently have a sea wall in front of the Holiday Inn with plenty of beach sand in front of the wall.  But how do we do it?  We maintain the beach front via continuous re-nourishment.  Beach renourishment is the process of taking sand from one place and depositing it elsewhere.  Renourishment is the most noninvasive tactic engineers have come up with yet.

The Army Corps of Engineers have taken on a 50 year project for continual renourishement for Folly Beach every 8 years.  The first phase was finished in 1993.  It did not work as well as planned.  Sand was pulled from a sediment buildup in the Stono Inlet, behind Folly Island, and deposited along the beaches.  In the area around the Stono inlet, where sediment was removed, sand began filling up and replacing the removed sand.  Basically a hole was dug and surrounding sand slid down to fill the hole.  By 1995, 2/3 of the sand put on the beach had slid back into the spot where it was removed.  The Army Corps of Engineers was held responsible for the sudden erosion and funded an emergency renourishment in 1998 and another in 2001.  For these renourishment projects, sand was dredged from the Folly River and deposited on Folly Beach.  This time, it worked.  The sand stayed on the beaches with an acceptable rate of erosion.

The next renourishment occurred in summer of 2005.  Summer is turtle nesting season, so the project was carefully coordinated so as not to disturb the turtles.  Army Corps of Engineers subcontracted the project to Weeks Marine of Covington, LA.  Sand was dredged 3 miles offshore and sent to Folly Beach through a submerged pipeline.  2005 renourishment was completed by late fall.
See 2005 Folly Beach renourishment photos from our photo gallery.

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Sand Dunes

Sand dunes are naturally made drifts of sand at the edge of the beach.  The dunes around Folly Beach are generally 3 to 15 feet tall and maybe 10 to 20 feet across.  You will see signs posted saying "Keep off the dunes".  Dunes are a natural feature that is essential to the ecosystem of the beach.  Sand constantly blows sand around.  Blowing sand is caught by the plants and accumulates into dunes.  Both public and private boardwalks provide easy passage over the dunes.  Tall beach grasses, sea oats and other vegetation keep the dunes in place.  Fencing and posts can help reinforce the dunes without effecting the environment.  When the Folly Beach is renourished, bulldozer are sometimes used to add sand to the existing dunes.  The dunes, created by wind and plants, act as a natural seawall, protecting the upshore area, marshes and maritime forests from some of the harsher beach weather elements.

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Turtles

Loggerhead sea turtles nest on Folly Beach every summer.  Sometimes you may see an endangered one-ton leatherback nesting on Folly, but the majority is loggerhead.  There is a huge conservation effort called the Folly Beach Turtle Watch Program.  The turtles seem to prefer nesting in the northeast, Morris Island end of Folly Beach.  This side of the beach is more preserved and untouched.  The water here becomes deep right away, making it less favorable for beach goers and better for turtles.  Researchers believe nesting ground location stays the same throughout generations of turtles.  After female hatchlings grow up, they return to the same place where they hatched when making their own nest.  Each mother turtle lays eggs every three years in the same spot.  Because generations of turtles go back to the same home, it is important to maintain the natural beach setting as a favorable nesting ground.  Here are some easy tips for helping the turtles.

• Keep the beach clear of debris and litter.

• If you find a nest, do not disturb it.

• Allow hatchlings to crawl to the ocean.  If you see them crawling off-course, you can guide them to the ocean, but do not pick them up and carry them to the ocean.  They need to physically contact the beach in order to find it again for nesting.

• Report nest abuse by people or animals to the Folly Beach Public Safety (843) 588-2433.

• Practice and preach "Lights Out for Turtles".  Artificial lighting is confusing to hatchlings and deters mothers from nesting on the beach.

For more information on Folly Beach loggerhead turtles and what you can do to help, go to www.FollyTurtles.com.

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