herons are white, long-legged, freshwater and coastal birds in the ardeidae family, commonly known in rio as garças.

in tupi language 'guarás' means herons, 'tyba' means gathering, from that, 'guaratiba.'

to this day, hundreds of herons can be seen flying above the beach and nesting in the nearby lagoon behind the restinga da marambaia, the beach and natural reserve located inside a military area.

the beach is situated in an ecologically preserved region, close to the mata atlântica (atlantic forest) and mangrove vegetation, and on the right side of the beach one can see the island of marambaia, a 42 km sandbank used by the brazilian army which juts out into the atlantic ocean.

while the island of marambaia seems to be a peninsula, it is in fact a long, thin island stretching out into the ocean and getting almost to the famous ilha grande.