Ocean Lakes

As many of you remember, a few weeks ago, we had a juvenile swan come in contact with cooking oil in one of our lakes. The swan is still in the care of the Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and getting stronger each day.  Our team rescues many animals each week from different situations – Cooking oil, fishing line, being run over, etc. We want to take this opportunity to further educate our guests on how they can help protect the wildlife around us, as well as the environment.  To do so, we have gone straight to the experts – Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Their Executive Director, Kim, is an expert in her field and works closely with the Ocean Lakes team to rescue and rehabilitate the animals in the campground, as well as the surrounding areas.  Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center | Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center rehabilitates birds of prey and other federally protected birds, mammals, and reptiles. Their mission is to mitigate human impacts ...

Do you enjoy feeding the ducks, geese, and waterfowl at Ocean Lakes Family Campground? We ask that you no longer feed them since it is now illegal in Horry County.   There is a new Horry County Ordinance (Ord. No. 69-07, 5-15-07) that was passed this year regarding feeding migratory and domestic waterfowl (geese, swans, ducks, cormorants, etc.). It is now illegal in Horry County to feed any of these animals, unless you are on a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) property. Ordinance Purpose | To prevent such conduct that may attract and concentrate migratory and domestic waterfowl to or near residential properties in Horry County. It has been determined that the presence of large numbers of waterfowl can cause a public nuisance by contaminating lakes and ponds, and even causing erosion. Ordinance Prohibits Feeding | No person shall feed, cause to be fed, or provide food for domestic or migratory waterfowl in residential areas of Horry County. No person shall create o...

One of our baby swans had a close call that serves as a reminder of the importance of discarding fishing line properly. The baby swans on Magnolia Lake on Wednesday. The baby swan, which left its nest for the first time this week, grabbed a fishing lure Thursday evening that was hanging from a tree in one of the lakes, sending the hook through its little beak. The baby was hanging from the line, and the parents were frantic. Our Security team contacted one of our residents who we knew has experience in bird and animal rescues and rehabs, Jo Coeyman. She quickly grabbed a kayak to reach the baby swan. “While she was getting the kayak, the parents kept swimming up to me, I swear they were asking for help,” said Tracy Wright, our Security teammate who responded to the lake to help the swan. “I told them it was coming.” Ocean Lakes resident Jo Coeyman, who has experience in animal rescues, carefully removes the fishing lure from the baby swan's beak. C...