Carolina Safari Co. is excited to announce the official return of the Purple Martin Tours for the 2025 Season!

Join local Naturalist, Captain Zach Steinhauser, for a pontoon boat tour of the largest purple martin roost in North America: right here on Lake Murray! Steinhauser has traveled across the United States and Brazil to study this mystical migratory songbird. His work has been featured in Living Bird Magazine, Garden & Gun, the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, WIS-TV, and so many others!

You’re sure to enjoy this sunset cruise to Bomb Island with the most knowledgeable safari guide on the lake!

Steinhauser shares, “Purple Martins from across the southeast arrive at the island in the evenings every night for two months with numbers peaking around 500,000 at the end of July. This gathering is one giant party for the birds as they prepare for their migration to places like the Amazon Rainforest. While this phenomenon occurs elsewhere in the country, the flock of Purple Martins on Lake Murray happens to be the largest known gathering of Purple Martins on the planet.”

“In a world today where everyone’s eyes are locked to their screens, it brings me great pleasure to provide folks the opportunity to experience firsthand one of SC’s greatest natural wonders,” stated Steinhauser about the famous tours.

Evening tours showcasing the daily return of the Purple Martins at sunset will be available Tuesday through Sunday. Book yours beginning May 30 at Carolina Safari Co.!

Zach Steinhauser, a Naturalist at Wingard’s Market, is the owner of the Carolina Safari Company, and the cinematographer who debuted Purple Haze: A Conservation Film.