N 33°30’40.28″ W 79° 3’54.10″ Google Earth location
This wonderful close approach of a tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) comes courtesy of Huntington Beach State Park, between Murrell’s Inlet and Pawley’s Island, South Carolina – specifically, out on the boardwalk extending into the swamp, as the plots show. When we visited a few years ago, we passed a plaque along the boardwalk that spoke of the species that may be seen there, and The Girlfriend asked what a tricolored heron looked like. That’s always a challenging thing to provide, and I did my best, but only a few minutes later I was able to just point and say, “Like that.”
Definitely a cool and perhaps underrated area to visit, the state park is home to countless species that are acclimated to visitors and thus allow much closer approaches that in most circumstances, as well as the best tree that I’ve ever been in contact with. Nearby is also Brookgreen Gardens, a huge park largely dedicated to sculpture but also featuring picnic areas, a small zoo and aviary, and boat tours. The beach is kinda boring, but the birds make up for it. We threw the kayaks in for a little excursion around the inland islands just a little northeast of here too. Check it out.