Photo: Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rhett’s Island is a tidewater island in the Altamaha River delta just outside Darien, ringed by dikes that once held rice fields. Today its impoundments, part of Georgia DNR’s Altamaha Wildlife Management Area, draw thousands of wintering ducks, plus bald eagles, wood storks, alligators and, in summer, the odd manatee in the river. There is no road: you get there by boat.
- SizeAbout 1,200 acres of diked impoundments
- AccessBoat only; pull boats over the dike at perimeter access points
- Best seasonLate fall and winter for waterfowl
- RequiredHunting or fishing license, or a Lands Pass
The Old Rice Fields
Giant cutgrass lines the dikes facing the Darien and Altamaha rivers, and widgeon grass grows in the ditches inside them. Within the impoundments, brackish-marsh grasses now fill the old rice fields. On neighboring Butler, Champney and General’s islands, some fields are drained in season, planted with grain and flooded in fall as winter food for migrating ducks.
What You Might See
Wintering ducks
Gadwall, blue-winged and green-winged teal, canvasback, redhead, ring-necked duck, scaup and coots, with Canada and snow geese some winters.
Raptors
Bald eagles in every season, and ospreys almost any time you look up.
Wading birds
Great blue herons, great egrets, wood storks, white ibis and clapper rails.
Alligators, otters and manatees
Alligators sun on the dikes, otters play around the island, and manatees sometimes feed along the Altamaha in summer.
Planning a Visit
Rhett’s Island lies in the delta just downriver from Darien. Boaters usually come down the Darien River from the city’s ramp or down the Altamaha. DNR has posted that the Champney Island boat ramp is closed and parking at the Darien River ramp is limited and shared, so check the WMA page before you go. At low tide, some dike access points can be left high and dry. A portion of the area is open for waterfowl hunting in season, with separate viewing areas; primitive campsites are available elsewhere on the WMA. If you don’t know the area, talk with DNR staff before your first trip.
Contact: Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, Region 6 office, 2613 U.S. 17, Darien, GA 31305. 912-262-3173.
Rhett’s IslandOld rice-field dikesMore nearby: Darien and McIntosh County, the Darien marsh nature trail and Darien fishing and boat ramps.
Sources we checked
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