Huntington Beach State Park Visit

I wanted to get down to Huntington Beach State Park down just south of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina early so that I could get to see the Roseate Spoonbills which can be found there in the summer.  I also wanted to see the Wood Storks which I thought were summer birds but a local birder told me they stay all winter in great numbers.  I must say that I have seen these huge birds in Florida but not in the numbers I saw in the park!

I was hoping to see some good birds as I took my oldest daughter down with me who hadn't seen some of these birds and likes "big" things to photograph!!  She was not disappointed.  Our timing was perfect as we got there at low tide and the weather was gorgeous -- couldn't have been better.  The light was also coming from the right direction!!  

The park has two main areas where you can park and see the birds -- the first is close to the entrance, you park your car and then walk along the road.  Lisa first spotted a Roseate Spoonbill and a Great 
Blue Heron hanging out together.  I saw Wood Storks off in the distance landing in the reeds at the far end of the walk.

Off in the way distance, I saw a tree filled with white birds.  First I thought Ibis and then Egrets.  Both were wrong -- it was a tree full of these Wood Storks!!

I had seen the flock fly overhead.  A fellow birder commented that there were about 150 that morning.  We saw probably 30 eventually as they came out of hiding and came down toward the marsh by the road.

Here are a couple of the Wood Storks, up close and personal! 

They aren't all that pretty just standing there but are very impressive in flight.

 You can't see the black on the wing tips in this picture very well.

Coming down or a landing!!

This Roseate Spoonbill was one of the first birds we spotted and he finally posed although he spent a good deal of time weaving his bill back and forth in the shallow water feeding.  He was a lovely pink!

He was quite close as you can see!

There were several of these Tri-Color Herons feeding in the reeds.  There were also several Great Blue Herons,

There were lots of Snowy Egrets as well.  These two posed for me on the railing.

There were even more Great Egrets than Snowy Egrets -- magnificent bird!

Then a mature Bald Eagle flew overhead!  I also saw an immature one but didn't get a picture.

No chance of mis-identifying this bird!!

A fellow birder noted that there was a Bald Eagle in a tree on the way to the Marsh Walk (our second venue).  Lisa spotted him up in the tree but then he decided to go to a different branch which wasn't sturdy enough to hold him well so he struggled and finally flew away. 

We walked along the Marsh Walk and really didn't see much except some Black Bellied Plovers and Sanderlings in the mud.  This Black Bellied Plover came up on the railing and posed nicely for me!

After about two hours and 300 pictures for me, we headed back home.  On the way back, we looked over our first birding spot and there were literally no birds except the Wood Storks up in the trees.  Amazing the difference a few minutes can make in seeing birds!

Another birder told me that there have been about a dozen Roseate Spoonbills but that they are heading out soon.  All in all, it was a very successful day.  I wanted to show Lisa the Roseates and the Wood Storks and she was duly impressed!