This wading bird’s nests in Port Royal rose 3,700% in 3 years. How to see them
Port Royal’s Cypress Wetlands is bursting at the seams with birds -- nests of one unusual-looking species alone has increased 3,700% in 3 years, according to master naturalist Jill Moore.
The popular rookery, says Moore, who conducts tours there, is nearing its maximum capacity with more than 800 nests counted last year.
“I do tours all over the area, from Georgia to North Carolina,” Moore said. “There’s just nothing like the Cypress Wetlands. It’s so amazing and so accessible.”
Nesting season, when birds are in what Moore alls “dating and mating mode,” is ramping up now and will continue through the summer. At this time, birds fill the trees around the clock.
By contrast, from September through March, the birds use the wetlands as a roosting area only and return nightly at sunset.
“That has incredible numbers as well,” Moore says. “Every branch is full at night at sunset.”
Moore said great and snowy egrets, tricolored herons and little blue heron are the first to begin building nests.
Ibis, which begin nesting later, really took over the wetlands in 2025, she said, building 257 nests.
In 2025, 11 different species of birds and 803 nests were documented.
Crowded conditions can be seen in the nests birds are now building in less-than-ideal low-lying branches on the outskirts of the wetlands, Moore said, calling it “urban sprawl.”
The growth of wood storks in Port Royal’s Cypress Wetlands
Recent growth in the numbers of one species in particular stands out, though.
Wood stork nests grew from two in 2022 to 77 in 2025, a 3,750% increase.
“It’s been like exponential growth every year,” Moore said.
Nobody knows for sure why the number of wood storks has increased so much at the local wetlands, Moore said. But she noted that wood storks are rebounding. In February, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the wood stork from the federal list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.
The thinking goes that the offspring of the wood storks that nested here initially are now returning, Moore said. Cypress Wetlands also is perfect habitat for them, she notes. They build large nests in trees surrounded by water, which help protect them from raccoons and snakes. The moat around the nest trees is also patrolled by alligators, which is another layer of protection from predators.
“Wood storks need some space because they are big,” Moore said.
The long-legged prehistoric-looking birds are roughly the size of a great blue heron with wing spans of up to 5 1/2 feet.
Moore conducts tours for Friends of the Cypress Wetlands, a not-for-profit that supports the popular rookery. She says a big reason nesting birds are increasing is because of improvements made by the town, with help from the Friends of Cypress Wetlands, over the years to improve the habitat.
“We’re giving it a little boost and providing the habitat for them,” Moore said.
There’s no other place besides Cypress Wetlands where people can see the variety of birds in such an accessible location, Moore said.
How to take a tour of Cypress Wetlands
Moore is the founder of Moore2Life, which provides nature-based programs to local residents, communities and tourists in Lowcountry. She also provides tours of Cypress Wetlands. The tour calendar can be found at The Friends of the Cypress Wetlands website. The next tour that is not sold out is March 18.
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 2:52 PM.
