Wood storks are some of the largest wading birds inhabiting South Carolina. They stand over 1 meter tall, and their wingspan is over 150 cm (60 in). The bird's body is white with black flight feathers (on the edges of the wings) and tail.

The SC Department of Natural Resources acquired the Dungannon Plantation Heritage Preserve in Charleston County to protect one of the top nesting colonies of the federally-endangered wood stork in South Carolina.

Dec 13, 2016 · Thanks to conservation efforts across the Southeast, it’s a treat that’s becoming more common in South Carolina. After steep mid-century declines due to loss of habitat and food sources, the federally protected wood stork (Mycteria americana) appears on the upswing.

Feb 17, 2024 · Wood storks, Mycteria americana, are large wading birds with distinctively bald heads and long, down-curved bills, which helps to make them easily recognizable. A Wood Stork pauses in its search...

Wood storks are the only stork species and the largest wading bird that breeds in the United States. They are large, long-legged birds with a head to tail length of 85 to 115 cm (33 to 45 inches) and a wingspan of 150 to 165 cm (59 to 65 inches).

Wood Storks have a wingspan of 150 to 165 cm (59 to 65 in.) and a head-to-tail length of 85 to 115 cm (33 to 45 in.) (Coulter et al. 1999). They are the largest wading birds that breed in South Carolina. Unlike herons and egrets, storks fly with their neck and legs extended.

Wonderful wood storks can be seen gracefully soaring over marshes or feeding in the shallows during low tide all over Hilton Head Island. These large wading birds are the only breeding species of storks found in the United States.

Our only native stork in North America, a very large, heavy-billed bird that wades in the shallows of southern swamps. Flies with slow wingbeats, and flocks often soar very high on warm days. Young Wood Storks have noisy begging calls, but adults …

Dec 28, 2022 · Much of the wood stork population’s recent growth in the United States has occurred in South Carolina. While the highest numbers of nests remain in Florida, the South Carolina Lowcountry – particularly the ACE Basin – has during the past decade become a site with one of the highest densities of wood stork colonies along the East Coast.

Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) populations have declined in recent years (Og- den 1974) as a result of drought and human modification of nesting and feeding areas. The current population is estimated at less than 15-20% of the more than 100,000 birds