FielD Trips

Boat Ride on the May River with Captain Amber Kuehn                        October 15, 2025

It was a beautiful day on the May River with amazing Captain Amber. She is so knowledgeable and dedicated to preserving our area’s natural resources-- and always, entertaining!  It was a great trip!

Here are just few things we learned:

-There are only 2 rivers in our area: The New River and the Coosawhatchie River. Even though we call our waterways rivers, they end at land and do not flow into another waterway, so they are not rivers.

-Because the May River is not a river, the tides do not carry pollution into it.

-Beaufort County has the most marsh grass in the country. Read this article by Amber Kuehn:

https://www.locallifesc.com/salt-marshes-sustain-life/#:~:text=The%20Port%20Royal%20area%20watershed%20in%20Beaufort%20County,than%20any%20other%20county%20in%20the%20United%20States

-Dolphins can’t chew so they eat lots of small fish they can eat whole.

-Eagles are not killing osprey to eat them, but want the fish that the osprey catch.

-Because there are no rocks in the low country, you may see deer by the water licking sea grass to get the salt nutrients.

-Pluff Mud was originally called plough mud as the mud was used as fertilizer. Link about pluff mud:

https://www.bluffton.com/pluff-mud-stinky-stuff-lowcountry-marsh/

-The dirty foam you see at the beach is decomposing spartina grass and other organic matter that the wind blows towards the shores.

-This is how the Fiddler crab got its name:  The way the male crab waves his larger claw to attract a mate looks like he is playing a fiddle.

-There are lefty and righty male fiddler crabs. If they lose a claw, it may grow back on the opposite side.

-The little round balls of dirt near fiddler crab holes are made by the females and filter the sand.

-In low tide the oysters look dirty and brown as they keep a layer of mud to stay cool and keep insides moist.

-Beaufort county is actually sitting on what used to be the ocean floor. There is a large fossil bed as the river approaches Hilton Head and large Megalodon shark teeth and bones have been  found. See pic.

-All oysters start out as males for one year, then most  become female

https://www.oneearth.org/five-astonishing-facts-you-didnt-know-about-oysters/

In 1970, Jacques Cousteau came to Hilton Head to learn about  Hilton Head’s unique dolphins  and their strand feeding.  Amber is quoted in this article:

https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/community/beaufort-news/article291528110.html