Tybee National Wildlife Refuge was established on May 9, 1938, by an executive order of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, as a breeding area for migratory birds and other wildlife. Located in the mouth of the
Savannah River
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...
, the refuge began as a oyster shoal, Oysterbed Island, used by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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as a spoil disposal site to support their mandated harbor
dredging
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
activity. As a result, the majority of the refuge is now covered with sand deposits. The more stable portions of the island are densely covered with such woody species as
eastern red cedar,
wax myrtle
''Myrica'' is a genus of about 35–50 species of small trees and shrubs in the family Myricaceae, order Fagales. The genus has a wide distribution, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, and missing only from Australi ...
, and
groundsel.
saltwater marsh
A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...
borders parts of the island.
The refuge is an important resting and feeding area for migratory birds including
gull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
s,
terns, neotropical migratory
songbirds, and
shorebird
245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
s.
Least terns,
black skimmer
The black skimmer (''Rynchops niger'') is a tern-like seabird, one of three similar birds species in the skimmer genus ''Rynchops'' in the gull family Laridae. It breeds in North and South America. Northern populations winter in the warmer water ...
s,
Wilson's plovers, and several other shorebird species have nested on the spoil deposits on Tybee. During all seasons, the refuge's shoreline and open spoil deposits are used as resting sites for
brown pelicans, gulls, and terns.
Endangered species
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
, including
piping plover
The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from e ...
s and
wood storks, have been observed on the refuge land, while
shortnose sturgeon
The shortnose sturgeon (''Acipenser brevirostrum'') is a small and endangered species of North American sturgeon. The earliest remains of the species are from the Late Cretaceous Period, over 70 million years ago.National Oceanic and Atmospher ...
and
manatees have been found in the waters bordering Tybee. With the use of telescopes,
birdwatchers observe the refuge birdlife from
levee
A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...
s located across the river within
Fort Pulaski National Monument.
References
Refuge profileRefuge website
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National Wildlife Refuges in South Carolina
Protected areas of Jasper County, South Carolina
Protected areas established in 1938
Wetlands of South Carolina
Landforms of Jasper County, South Carolina