Newly restored Crab Bank closed for nesting season

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD)- The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR) is closing Crab Bank on Tuesday for nesting birds to make their homes over the spring and summer months.

SC DNR is out on boats putting up signage on the island to tell boaters that they may not land there until after October 15.

“At the beginning of nesting season the birds can have a whole new habitat to come to and nest into,” said Janet Thibault, a wildlife biologist with SC DNR. “We just ask that people give the island a lot of space.”

The island was recently restored with help from the Charleston Harbor dredging project and now will host nesting birds for the first time since 2016.

Hurricane Irma wiped out Crab Bank and now the island is the largest it has ever been according to SC DNR.

Thibault has already observed different birds on the island.

“It’s going to be really exciting with the new habitat created because it’ll be interesting to see how it unfolds. There are a lot of different habitats. We’re just really excited to see. I’ve already seen oystercatcher pairs and they’re paired up and making scrapes in the sand,” said Thibault.