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02/05/25 - Little St Simons - A Stop at Fort Frederica

En route to Little St. Simon's Island we stopped at Fort Frederica to eat our left overs and stretch our legs. There are ruins, historical gardens and the view of the coastal waterway the British fort once defended from the Spanish. It was February, but we did spot a violet in bloom and ripe oranges. Oranges are green until cold weather ripens them into the form that turns up in grocery stores.






Some oranges, too high up to reach, so probably sour

Keywords: georgia

02/04/25 - Little St Simons - Flatboat to the Island

We took a flatboat out to Little St Simons Island. It was a very pleasant ride on calm waters. On our previous visit, it had been wet and icy. All of us passengers huddled under blankets. This trip was quite different.









Keywords: georgia

02/03/25 - Little St Simons - Arrival, Needlerush Trail and Sunset

We took the flatboat from the Hampton River Marina to Little St Simon's Island. As soon as we were on land, we took a short walk north up and along the Needlerush Trail. We felt right at home. Then, we went and watched the sunset before dinner.





















Keywords: georgia

02/02/25 - Little St Simons - Sancho Panza, Controlled Burns and More

One of the guides at Little St Simons took us up north to an area of the island we had not explored. We visited the Twin Oaks, two old gnarly live oaks with long almost horizontal branches twisted and warped around each other. It's hard to capture this in pictures since the trees wrap around one. There were bones and feathers on the ground.

We passed through one of the controlled burn areas with charred vegetation and black ash on the ground. This is part of the island management plan. The burned area was a real contrast to the lush local vegetation.

We also stopped at Sancho Panza beach. It was once wild dunes, but now most of the dunes are covered with grasses. It's one of the many transformations. We didn't spend a lot of time exploring, so we're hoping to get back to the area on a future visit.


Welcome to the island





Welcome to the island


A burned area




The Twin Oaks








Sancho Panza Beach



Keywords: georgia

02/01/25 - Little St Simons - Atlantic Beach

In the afternoon, we headed out to the Atlantic Beach. The tide was going out, and it was going to be an extremely low low tide. This meant lots of beach and a GPS track that mainly had us walking on water.

We did some bird watching en route, and saw a friendly and photogenic armadillo. Then we crossed the dread Mosquito Causeway to the beach. It was too cold for our insect "friends", so there was not a mosquito to be found.

One of the nice things about having a guide was having someone to point out and explain things. We had seen and collected sand dollars before, but our guide showed us the distinctive pattern of holes that they leave when they bury themselves at low tide. He even dug one up for us so we could see the moving spikes on its underside. (Of course, he returned that one to its hole.)

We also saw some little sand worms and their trails of snot and sand along the beach and olive shells with their distinctive tracks. We walked far out on the sand into the sea. The sky was bright and the ocean endless.

En route





The Mosquito Causeway


Sand patterns






A living sand dollar

A sand dollar hideaway


A sand dollar in the sand


Olive shell with its distinctive track




Keywords: georgia

01/31/25 - Little St Simons - Norm's Pond

We explored the beach for a while. Then we headed back to the lodge with a stop at Norm's Pond. Norm is the biggest alligator on the island, and Norm's Pond is the biggest, best and deepest pond there. Norm lives alone except for Norma, his lady alligator friend.





















Keywords: georgia

01/30/25 - Little St Simons - An Amazing Sunset

We knew it was going to be an amazing sunset when the color started appearing in the late afternoon. There were also some leaping fish in the river, so we were well entertained before dinner.







   
   












Keywords: georgia

01/29/25 - Little St Simons - Flatboat Loop

We took a flatboat tour down the waterway fronting the lodge to the Atlantic Ocean. Then we cut around and returned on the Hampton River. The waters were calm for the most part except when we approached the ocean proper. Along the way, there were egrets, cormorants, herons and other sea birds. We even saw dolphins, but they would leap and dive too quickly to photograph.























Keywords: georgia

01/28/25 - Little St Simons - Three Pines and South Pond

One of our favorite walks is to head down to Three Pines and check out the bird life then, rather than heading back to the lodge, head further south and take the South Pond loop. The return along the road is easy going, and its a great route for bird watching.


Eagles' nest




Wood stork



That wood stork again

An egret

Moss










Swamp birds


Keywords: georgia

01/27/25 - Little St Simons - Misty Morning

We knew this day was going to be different with its misty sky.

Keywords: georgia

01/26/25 - Little St Simons - North Dike to Lodge - Part 1

For a nice long walk, we had the lodge drop us off at the North Dike. We walked from there south along the east side of the pond taking a sidespur for each observation blind or tower. We cut back west along the South Dike and took the main road back to the lodge.

It was a wonderful misty day, and our walk began with a treat. There were wood storks in the pond but also a flock of roseate spoonbills. It was a great day for a hike with gray skies and mists. It can be easier to spot birds and wildlife when the sky is gray. If nothing else, there is less glare.























Keywords: georgia























Keywords: georgia

01/24/25 - Little St Simons - North Dike to Lodge - Part 3

This is one of those hikes one has to repeat. This time there were ducks and alligators and a variety of mushrooms.























Keywords: georgia

01/23/25 - Little St Simons - From the Lodge to Three Pines and Back

We were tired from our morning walk, but we just had to get out and do something, so we walked from the lodge to Three Pines and back. We had taken this walk just the day before, but that had been a sunny day. Today, there was mist shrouding everytbing.























Keywords: georgia

12/07/23 - Little St. Simon's - Departure

Here are some more photos of our departure. There are a few sunrise pictures, and they are much less saturated with color than the ones taken using an iPhone in the previous post. A few birds came to say goodbye including a woodpecker and an egret. The armadillos were sleeping in presumably after a wild night at the Armadillo Factory.

Early morning with the moon

More early light

Light caught by a tree

Brilliant red

More morning glow

Saying goodbye

More morning light

Goodbye to the wild trees

More early light

The main building at the lodge

An egret by the water

Keywords: georgia

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