2022 Phinizy Swamp - Nature Combining with Water Sciences

Located just below Augusta, Georgia

Phinizy Swamp lies along the Georgia side of the Savannah River just below Augusta, and is now integral to their wastewater treatment. History states that Native American tribes utilized this same area for trade, and then an Italian named Phinizy settled here in 1778. The remaining land from his holdings comprise the 6000-acre Nature Park owned by the City of Augusta, which is open to the public. Several large wetlands are ringed by walking trails, and boardwalks plus an extensive swamp system sprawls in every direction. Large cypress trees draped in Spanish moss welcomes avian life to visit, and hardwood bottoms like Phinizy Swamp are certainly the hallmark of a conservation success story.

Gallinule with two chicks, a sign of Spring

The timing of our April 21 visit was no fluke, since the Fripp Island Audubon Club came to see neotropical migratory songbirds. A boardwalk through a wide cypress creek bottom leads to the Phinizy welcome center and Swamp Store. Maps of the property provide the info for a self-guided walking tour, and binoculars are necessary to search out bird life across large ponds and at the tree tops. Of course, locals are here using the park as a walking or running path, or simply walking their dog, so the home town feeling of a park is also intact. Alligators, turtle, butterflies and wading birds are all commonplace here, and the migratory bird presence was strong too. Common yellowthroat, Parula warbler, Cape May warbler, Yellow-throat warbler, Savannah sparrow, Painted bunting and many others were sighted. I recommend about 4 hours time to complete the entire walking loop of the property, which includes time to stop and enjoy the natural surroundings. 

A Red-spotted Purple butterfly

Savannah Sparrow

To view more about Augusta click on The Partridge Inn - Forest Hills Golf - Frog Hollow Tavern- Augusta Canal Tour - The Masters / Eisenhower Tree 

To view past blog entries about recent field trips click on 2022 Oldfield Outfitters - 2022 Dolphin Head Beach - 2022 Bear Island WMA - 2022 Widgeon Point - 2022 Port Royal Sound Foundation / Nature Trail - 2022 Parris Island Birding - 2021 Palmetto Bluff Christmas Bird Count - 2021 Botany Bay WMA Birding - 2021 Tillman Sand Ridge- 2021 Nemours Plantation / Fall Birding - 2021 Coastal Exploration / South Fenwick Island - 2021 Hunting Island State Park / Lighthouse and Beach - 2021 Hunting Island State Park / Wildlife Sightings - 2021 Coastal Exploration / Bennett's Point- 2021 Edisto Canoe and Kayak Commission - 2021 Congaree / Swamp Plants - 2021 Congaree - Swamp Critters - 2021 Furman University - 2021 Givhans Ferry State Park -  2021 Spring Island - Reptiles and Amphibians - 2021 Spring Island / Plants and Insects - 2021 Fish Haul Beach / Wildlife - 2021 Fish Haul Beach / Vistas - 2021 Beidler Forest / Flora and Fauna - 2021 Beidler Forest - Name That Snake - 2021 Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary - 2021 Nemours Plantation Birding 

To view past Field Notes and Photos click January 2021 - July 2020-  June 2020 -  March 2020 - June 2019 - July 2018 - February 2018 -  December 2017 - September 2017 - January 2017- December 2016 - June 2016 - February 2016- December 2015 - October 2015 - September 2015 - August 2015 - July 2015 - June 2015 - February 2105 - October 2014 -  September 2014 - August 2014 - June 2014 - March 2012 - February 2012 - October 2011 - September 2011 

For past blog entries on 2016 travels click Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center - ACE Basin NERR - Abbeville - Seabrook Island - Rembert - Boykin - Kershaw County

For past blog entries on 2015 travels click  Little St. Simon's Island - SouthWest Florida - Alabama Black Belt - N.C. Brunswick Islands - Jensen Beach, Florida

For past blog entries on 2014 travels click on Barnsley Resort - Bald Head Island - Chicago - Fontana Village 

Creek flowing through Phinizy

Neat in-swamp recessed-floor porch