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| Nesting Great Egret |
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| Exploring a tunnel through the tall Cypress Trees. |
Every year tucked back in the mainland of North Myrtle Beach lies a thriving habitat where thousands of coastal birds come together to repopulate. This habitat is hidden deep into the Waccamaw River Swamp and only accessible by kayak. Its location allows mother nature to keep it a secret from most river travelers. Two years ago while I was doing a little self exploration of my own I stumbled right into this area where I observed well over 7 different species of medium to large coastal birds all working very diligently building nest, quarting, breeding and raising offspring to ensure their species survival for another generation.
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| Great Egret Wedding Veil |
Of the most common species you will see on this trip is the Great Egret. The Great Egret is named after
its wedding veil that it develops during each breeding season. Long ago, the Turkish would hunt the Egret for this seasonal plumage. It was used in their culture to adorn their hats to note a social class. This adornment by the Turks was called Aigrett (pronunced E-gret). Later, the French adopted a similar tradition by adorning the hats of military officials. The name Aigrett followed the bird into the French culture; however, the spelling adopted by the english was that of the French spelling - Egret. These majestic wedding veils that are only seen seasonally can be viewed closely at the breeding ground by slow moving kayaks quietly paddling by.
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| Little Blue Heron |
One of my favorite parts of this tour is when you get closer to the nesting area you will start to notice constant traffic patterns from the different bird species. They fly as though they are planes being guided into the airport. A constant steady stream of various species/groups fly to and from this habitat as they scour for food for their young and supplies for their nest to stay in good condition.
If you are coming to Myrtle Beach this year between March and July we highly encourage you to take this tour. It truly is a majestic once in a lifetime opportunity! Thanks for reading our blog and we look forward to you joining us on a memorable kayaking adventure!
or call
843-267-6816
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| Two Young Egrets showing an uncommon display of affection. |
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