Charles Towne Landing SHS - South Carolina

We spent Christmas with our family in 2023 in Charleston, South Carolina. We wanted to get a family photo in a natural setting on Christmas Eve and found that our first choice was closed as we were heading to it. So our son, Sam, improvised and suggested Charles Towne Landing. 

Current states of North Carolina and South Carolina were known as the Province of Carolina in the early colonial period from 1663 to 1712. The province was named after King Charles I of England (Carolus is the Latin name for Charles). King Charles II granted the land of Carolina to eight English noblemen as a reward for the efforts to help him regain the throne as King of England. Charles Town, now Charleston, was named after King Charles II, and was first established at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River (now Charles Towne Landing) in 1670, but was moved ten years later to its current site, a few miles to the southeast. Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site is the area of that first settlement and was opened in 1970. It contains a natural habitat zoo, ongoing archaeological excavations, a replica ship, hiking trails, etc. The entrance to Charles Towne Landing SHS is some distance off Old Towne Road. We parked in the parking lot at the entrance and back-tracked toward Old Towne Road and found some beautiful ponds and forested areas, without having to pay an entrance fee. We spent most of our time near two ponds, one along the entrance road and one near the visitors center. 

Following are some photos from Charles Towne Landing:

Sam, in a tree covered in Spanish moss, across the tree from a large pond along the entrance road. 

Pond slider turtles in the pond.

Black-crowned night herons along the side of the pond. 

Great egrets along the entrance pond. 

What appear to be a female northern pintail (left) and female northern shoveler (right) in the entrance pond. 

Anhingas along the entrance pond.

Several flocks of white ibis flew overhead and some of them landed in trees around the pond. 

We headed back up the road toward the pond near the visitor center for some more photos. 

Photos with the visitor center pond in the background. 

Canada geese

Poor photos of a great blue heron.

This beautiful anhinga landed in a tree next to the pond and gave us great views. 

This anhinga was further down the pond and gave us some different poses. 

This white ibis landed near the anhinga above, perhaps the closest I have ever been to one. 

Andrew and Michaela on a branch with a backdrop of Spanish moss. 

Sam with his dog Nebo.