Huntington Beach State Park
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[edit] Directions
The entrance is on the east side of US 17, about 17 miles north of Georgetown or 17 miles south of Myrtle Beach.
[edit] Birds to look for
Tundra Swan (w), Gadwall (w), American Wigeon (w), Blue-winged Teal (w), Lesser Scaup (w), Common Eider (w), Harlequin Duck (w), Surf Scoter (w), Black Scoter (w), Long-tailed Duck (w), Bufflehead (w), Hooded Merganser (w), Red-breasted Merganser (w), Red-throated Loon (w), Common Loon (w), Horned Grebe (w), Red-necked Grebe (w), Northern Gannet (w), Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant (m, w), Great Cormorant (w), American Bittern (w), Least Bittern (m, s), herons and egrets, Reddish Egret (August to December), Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (m, s), White Ibis, Glossy Ibis (m, w), Roseate Spoonbill (fall), Wood Stork (fall), Osprey, Bald Eagle, Merlin (m, w), Peregrine Falcon (m, w), Clapper Rail, King Rail, Virginia Rail (m, w), Sora (m, w), Common Moorhen, American Coot (w), any South Carolina plover, American Oystercatcher, Black-necked Stilt (s), any South Carolina shorebird, Purple Sandpiper (w), jaegers (w), any South Carolina gull or tern, Black Skimmer, Razorbill, Common Ground-Dove, Chuck-will's-widow (s), Cave Swallow (m, w), Sedge Wren (w), Marsh Wren, Henslow's Sparrow (m, w), Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (w), Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow (w), Lapland Longspur (w), Snow Bunting (w), Boat-tailed Grackle.
[edit] Description
Good to excellent birding from late August to early May, slower and very crowded during the summer. Stop by the Education Center for a map, checklist, and hints as to where to find wanted species. Many rarities have been seen from on or near the jetty, a 1.2 mile walk from the north beach parking lot. Huntington Beach State Park is one of the best and most accessible birding sites in South Carolina.
There is a very long list of rarities that have been found at Huntington Beach State Park, including, among others, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Pacific Loon, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Plover, Hudsonian Godwit, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black Guillemot, Burrowing Owl, Western Kingbird, White Wagtail, Sprague’s Pipit, LeConte’s Sparrow, and Lark Bunting.
Two other good birding areas are very close to Huntington Beach State Park, the road to the oyster recycling area (which is actually part of the park) and the Murrell’s Inlet Marshwalk.
To reach the road to the oyster recycling area, return to US 17 and turn right (north). Look for an inconspicuous state park sign on the right about 0.9 miles north on US 17. Turn in here and go 0.2 miles to a small beach on the edge of the salt marsh. This gives you another perspective on the marsh. American Oystercatchers are easier to find here than in the main park of the park. The road itself goes through a pine-oak forest that has larger trees than you find in the barrier island part of the park, and might be better for land birds than the main part of the park
To reach the Murrell’s Inlet Marshwalk from the main park entrance, turn left (north) on US 17 and go for a bit more than a mile to the exit for US 17 Business, which leads into the seafood restaurant village of Murrell’s Inlet. The Marshwalk is about 2.5 miles north on US 17 Business. Park in the large lot next to Captain Dick’s Restaurant. There is a roost of Black-crowned Night-Herons visible from the Marshwalk, and American Oystercatchers are fairly easy to find here, as well as Eurasian Collared-Doves.
