Least Bittern

The Least Bittern is the tiniest heron, at a mere 13 inches tall. In spring, they return to the marsh and make a soft to-to-to chuckling sound.

Clapper Rail

Clapper rails are small marsh birds that seem to disappear between the grasses. They have slightly curved bills. They are most often seen running furtively across Dewees Inlet Drive.

Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbills are large pink wading birds that feed by moving their spoon shaped bill through the water to find small animals.

Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis are seen several times each year in the impoundment or flying over. They are the same shape as the white ibis, but with reddish or iridescent feathers.

White Ibis

White Ibis can be here year round, but they tend to be in larger numbers from fall to spring. The adults are white with pink decurved bills and the juveniles are browner, with white spots on the rump that are visible when flying.

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored herons are active birds with white midsections and long bills. We see them most often in the impoundment and Lake Timicau, as well as the ponds along the end of Capers Inlet Drive.

Green Heron

Green Herons nest on the island and are here for most of the year, leaving for the coldest part. They are relatively small herons with occasionally comical antics. Find them near the waters edge, often in low trees, especially near Huyler House and Chapel ponds

Cattle Egret

The cattle egret is smaller than the great egret, and has a yellow bill and yellow legs. We don't see them very often on Dewees, but an occasional solitary one shows up in the impoundment. Photo by Pam Ford.

Reddish Egret

The reddish egret is a rare visitor to Dewees. You might see them at the front beach or at the corner. Larger than a little blue heron, they move quickly and erratically in search of prey. More on them here.

Wood Stork

We have wood storks on the island except in the coldest part of the winter.

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egrets are on Dewees year round. They can be fun to watch "fish" by dangling feet into the water and scooping up interested fish. They are smaller than Great Egrets and have black bills and yellow feet.

Little Blue Heron

The little blue heron can be a little misleading, because it's white when juvenile. In the blue phase, they are almost totally blue, with a reddish tint around the neck sometimes. In the white form, you can tell between a snowy egret and a little blue by the beak color: it's darker and the legs are more of a greenish color.

Great Egret

The Great Egret is a large white egret with yellow beak and black legs. They are present year-round on the island.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Herons can be found year-round on the island, and they nest in the pine trees near Lake Timicau