Capers Island is a state-owned barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean in

Charleston County Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 census, its population was 408,235, making it the third most populous county in South Carolina (behind Greenville and Richland counties). ...

, South Carolina about 15 miles north of the city of

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

. It is separated from the mainland by salt marshes and the Intracoastal Waterway. To the southwest it is separated from the barrier island

Dewees Island Dewees Island is a barrier island, located approximately 11 miles north of Charleston, and has an area of 1.875 square miles. The inlet between it and the Isle of Palms is shown on early maps as Spence's Inlet, and is today called Dewees Inlet. ...

by Capers Inlet. To the northwest, it is separated from the barrier island Bulls Island by Price Inlet. The island is named for Bishop

William Theodotus Capers William Theodotus Capers (August 9, 1867 - March 29, 1943) was bishop of the Diocese of West Texas in the Episcopal Church in the United States from 1916 until his death. Early life and education Capers was born on August 9, 1867, in Greenville, ...

, a native of South Carolina.

Visiting

Capers Island is undeveloped and maintained by the State of South Carolina. There is a small dock on Capers Inlet that has a boardwalk across the marsh to an unpaved nature trail which leads to the beach approximately 1 mile to the southeast. Primitive camping is permitted. However, a free permit must be acquired from the State Department of Natural Resources and is limited to 80 campers per night in no more than 20 groups.

Natural Habitat

Capers Island is a barrier island with a number of discrete habitats including: *Maritime uplands *Sandy beach *Salt marsh *Brackish ponds

Flora

Plant species on the island include: *

Sabal palm ''Sabal'' is a genus of palms (or fan-palms) endemic to the New World. Currently, there are 17 recognized species of ''Sabal'', including one hybrid species. The species are native to the subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, from th ...

Fauna

Numerous animal species inhabit the island and surrounding waters and marshes on a seasonal or permanent basis.

Mammals

* Raccoon * White-tailed deer * Bottlenose dolphins

Birds

Bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

* Osprey * Egret *

Heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

* Ibis * Bittern * Brown pelican

Reptiles

* American alligator * Loggerhead sea turtle * eastern diamondback rattlesnake * timber rattlesnake *

carolina pygmy rattlesnake :''Common names: pygmy rattlesnake, eastern pygmy rattlesnake, ground rattlesnake, leaf rattler, death rattler, more.'' Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing ...

* cottonmouth

Fish

* Bull shark * White shark * Bonnethead shark *

Sea trout Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are sewin (Wales), peel or peal ...

* Red drum *

Flounder Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, thou ...

* Black drum * King whiting * Spot * Pompano * Croaker red drum

Crustaceans

Shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

* Ghost crab * Blue crab * Fiddler crab

Mollusks

* Oyster

References

Islands of South Carolina Barrier islands of South Carolina {{SouthCarolina-stub