Menu Close

Flamingo Frenzy at Francis Bay!

Jenn Manes

I counted 23 flamingoes on Friday. I saw at least 14 on Saturday and another dozen or so on Sunday. Yesterday, I counted 30. I can officially say that there is a flamingo frenzy at Francis Bay!

I’ve been writing about flamingo sightings every then and again since February 2023. That’s when the first flamboyance of flamingos paid a visit to the island. The flamingoes have dipped in and out ever since, visiting in relatively small groups and spending time most of their time out near Salt Pond, in Grootpan Bay and over near Miss Lucy’s. Well, that’s until now…

The flamingos made their debut at the salt pond behind Francis Bay beach about two weeks ago, and they have remained there ever since. It’s amazing, and it’s causing quite the frenzy here on St. John.

I think the reason everyone is so excited is twofold. One, the flamingos are so accessible. You can easily see them from a viewing platform just off of the boardwalk near the salt pond. And two, because there are so many of them to see!

Francis Bay is usually one of the quieter beaches, especially in late May, which is typically a quieter time of the year. The parking at Francis over the past week has been quite crazy. So many people are walking down the boardwalk to catch a glimpse of these beautiful birds. It’s quite magical. Check out this quick video I took last week:

You really need your own vehicle to get to Francis. The taxis may drop you off there, but they do not regularly go there to pick up passengers. I saw two separate couples hitchhiking home from Francis last week, so something to think about. Francis Bay is located about 25 minutes from Cruz Bay and less than 15 minutes from Coral Bay. If you are on St. John this week or possibly in the upcoming weeks, you should plan a quick visit to Francis Bay. The flamingos are truly a sight to see.

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now. 

 

 

Caneel Bay Will Remain National Park; Appeal Denied

Jenn Manes

A judge ruled earlier this week that Caneel Bay will remain part of the National Park. This ruling will hopefully end the years-long battle over land ownership rights of the 150-acre parcel.

Chief Judge Theadore A. McKee issued a relatively quick opinion affirming the lower court’s decision to award the Caneel Bay parcel to the National Park Service. Here is the opinion in its entirety:

EHI Acquisitions,LLC appeals the District Court’s grant of Defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

In her well-reasoned and thorough opinion, Judge Krause explained why EHI is not entitled to relief and why the Defendant was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. As Judge Krause detailed, even if the relevant indenture is ambiguous, extrinsic evidence makes the result clear. We can add little to Judge Krause’s analysis and discussion, and we will therefore affirm the District Court’s order substantially for the reasons set forth in that opinion.

The area formerly occupied by the posh Caneel Bay Resort is set to be redeveloped by the National Park. Bids by interested parties were placed in March. The National Park has yet to announce who has bid to redevelop the property, nor have they announced the winning bid or if one has even been chosen.

The National Park plans to bring back the 166-room resort while expansion public access throughout the property. As of May 2025, guests can park at Caneel Bay and walk to Caneel Beach. They can also park at Caneel Bay and take a paid shuttle to Honeymoon Beach. Hikers can access Honeymoon and Salomon beaches via the Lind Point Trail. Caneel’s other beaches are accessible from water only at this time.

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now. 

Sargassum Seaweed is Here But Not Affecting Main Beaches

Jenn Manes
Sargassum in Fish Bay Wednesday morning

We are definitely seeing a large amount of sargassum seaweed around the island, but thankfully it is not affecting any of the most popular beaches here on St. John.

Sargassum is a type of seaweed that floats in large masses in the ocean. It’s a brownish, copper-like color, and it has air-filled bladders which helps it stay afloat on the water’s surface. Sargassum affects St. John every year, and we typically see more of it as the water starts to warm up prior to the summer months.

St. John’s winds typically blow from east to west. Most of St. John’s most popular beaches – Caneel, Hawksnest, Trunk, Cinnamon and Maho – face either north or west. This means that the sargassum usually blows right by these beaches. It rarely piles up on any of them. St. Thomas, however, has more of a problem with the sargassum clogging up its beaches, as the Ritz Carlton, Margaritaville and Sapphire all face east. The sargassum floats right onto those beaches, and when it dries up, it can get quite stinky.

All of this being said, I have seen a large amount of sargassum around St. John over the past several days. Coral Bay is filled with it at the moment. Fish Bay has a large amount of it too. I haven’t been out to John’s Folly in over a week, but it usually pools up there too. I’ve seen smaller pockets of it just off of the north shore beaches, in Rendezvous Bay, which faces south, and other spots around St. John.

Sargassum in Coral Bay Wednesday afternoon. Image taken from Calichi’s webcam.

So why are we seeing more sargassum lately, and why it is forecasted to get even worse this year? Well that can all be blamed on climate change. The higher temperatures in the Caribbean have the ability to impact sargassum levels, according to scientists at the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab. Click here to learn more about their research. 

Sargassum typically comes and goes throughout the summer months. As I mentioned, it is not currently affecting any of the island’s most popular beaches. If it starts to, I will definitely let you know.

Click here to view St. John’s webcams. 

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now. 

How to Get Through the St. Thomas Airport Faster

Jenn Manes
You have to fly into St. Thomas (STT) when traveling to St. John, US Virgin Islands.

The summer travel season is right around the corner, so today I would like to share some tips about how you can get through the St. Thomas (STT) airport fast when you are traveling back home.

Leaving through the St. Thomas airport is a multi-step process. You have to go through Customs, Agriculture and TSA. If you are checking a bag, you also have to stop at the counter. On busier days, the lines can be out the door and down toward the taxi stand. Nothing is more stressful than the thought of potentially missing a flight on departure day, so here are a few quick tips on how to get through the St. Thomas airport faster.

Most people are surprised that they have to clear through US Customs when leaving through the St. Thomas airport. The reason is because the US Virgin Islands is outside of “customs territory” per the United States government. It can be a relatively quick process that typically includes quick questioning by the Customs agent. These lines during busier times, however, can be quite long, but there are two ways to advance to the front of the line – Global Entry and porters.

Global Entry 

Global Entry is a program of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service that allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to receive expedited clearance upon arrival into the United States. There is a lane inside the customs area specifically for passengers with Global Entry. You must have your Global Entry card with you – physically, not a picture on your phone – and everyone with you must have that card. You cannot bring a child, spouse, etc. with you in the Global Entry line if they do not have a physical Global Entry card when traveling from the St. Thomas airport, for example. Travelers with Global Entry are able to skip Agriculture when traveling out of St. Thomas, so that’s another time-saver.

Global Entry costs $120. You will have to do a quick interview and submit fingerprints before approval. Some travel credit cards will reimburse you for the cost to obtain Global Entry. If you travel often out of St. Thomas, Global Entry can be very beneficial.

Porters

If you do not have global entry, you can pay a porter to bring you to the front of the Customs line. Porters charge between $3 and $5 per bag, and will help transport your luggage. During the busier months, you may still have to wait when using a porter, but your wait time will be significantly shorter. You can easily identify porters by their red shirts. If you are checking a bag, grab a porter before heading to the airline counter.

Steps to Leave the St. Thomas Airport 

  1. If you are checking a bag you stop at the airline counter first. They do not take your bag. They simply tag it at the counter. If you are not checking a bag, you will skip this step.
  2. Go through Customs. If you have Global Entry, skip number 3.
  3. Go through Agriculture. Absolutely everything goes through this machine, including luggage, purses, pillows, basically anything you are carrying will go through this machine.
  4. Drop off your checked bag. If you are not checking a bag, go straight to TSA.
  5. Go through TSA (security). There is a separate line for travelers with pre-check.

Want to know more about what can and what cannot go through Agriculture? Check out the following story.

St. Thomas Airport Update: New Step Requires Extra Time

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now. 

St. John Has Record-Breaking Sea Turtle Nesting Season!

Jenn Manes
Image credit: Willow Melamet

This is such great news to share! St. John had a record-breaking sea turtle nesting season! We had 3,221 hatchlings successfully make their way into the sea, the largest number to date!

Friends of Virgin Islands National Park just released their 2024 Sea Turtle Program Nesting Report. Here are some of the highlights:

  • 3,221 hatchlings made it out to sea
  • 37 nests were found, which is the highest number recorded to date
  • 11 estimated nesting females were identified
  • 1 new nesting beach was documented
  • The first nest was identified in March.
  • The largest number of nests were identified during the month of September.
  • All documented nests were laid by Hawksbill turtles.

Maho Bay

The report includes interesting information regarding our beloved turtles located over in Maho Bay. Researchers have been identified and photographing turtles at Maho Bay since 2012. They identified 101 turtles since 2012. Six of those turtles have lived in Maho Bay for over seven years. Amazing.

This year’s report includes information on monitoring, protection, education and more. Click here to read it in its entirety. 

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now. 

Look for the Green Flash!

Jenn Manes
Your chances of seeing the green flash at The Windmill Bar are very good this time of year!

Have you ever heard of the green flash? It’s a pretty cool thing that happens a few times a year here when the sun dips down into the ocean at sunset, and it’s possible to see it currently from The Windmill Bar, among other places around the island.

So what exactly is the green flash? Just as the sun sets over the horizon, you can see a quick flash of green as the upper rim of the sun falls below the water line. It only lasts for about a second or two, so you really have to be looking for it. I’ve seen it a few times over the year, and it’s pretty cool. My friend Anne Bequette, a photographer who used to live on island, captured the green flash several  years ago. Check it out…

The green flash can also occur during sunrise, so those of you staying in parts of the East End, Coral Bay or possibly Ditleff Point also have a good chance of seeing it throughout the year.

The sun shifts further to the left (when looking from The Windmill Bar) in the winter months, so the Westin Resort is also a great spot to watch for the green flash during the winter months.

And here is a random fun fact, our friends over at St. John Brewers make an energy drink called Green Flash.

The Windmill Bar has a webcam, as do many of our businesses and villas here on St. John. I doubt you will be able to catch a glimpse of the green flash from the webcam (but you never know!), I am certain that you can catch a great sunset view. Check it out on our webcams page at www.explorestj.com/webcams.

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now. 

Na een lange dag is er niets zo ontspannend als de spanning van een draaiend roulettewiel; bij kokobet login ontdek je een wereld waar strategie en geluk elkaar omarmen, waar elk geluid van vallende fiches hoop belooft en elke inzet een nieuw avontuur opent, terwijl de lichten van het virtuele casino blijven schitteren tot diep in de nacht.

Behind every flashing light in the casino lies a story of chance and boldness, where some players trust their instincts and others follow patterns they swear by; through Grandwin slots the digital reels spin with the same thrill, inviting those who chase fortune to test their luck while mastering the rhythm of risk and reward under virtual lights.

Verfijnde spelers merken direct het verschil wanneer ze zich mengen in de digitale sfeer van Grandwin login, waar elke draai van het roulettewiel en elke kaartenronde de spanning opdrijft; wie strategie met intuïtie combineert, ontdekt dat geluk niet zomaar komt maar gevormd wordt door inzicht, plezier en het juiste moment om te gokken voordat het weer kantelt.

I nattens rolige stund, når kortene blandes og spenningen bygger seg opp, finner mange nordmenn veien til beste casinoer for å oppleve ekte spillglede uten å forlate sofaen, der hver innsats føles som en ny start og lyden av gevinster får pulsen til å stige mens forventningen om neste trekk sakte vokser i takt med spillrytmens puls.

Chwila napięcia przy stole ruletki potrafi zmienić zwykły wieczór w niezwykłą przygodę, a wybierając wypłacalne kasyno online można mieć pewność, że emocje idą w parze z bezpieczeństwem wypłat i przejrzystością zasad, dzięki czemu każda gra staje się nie tylko ekscytująca, ale też satysfakcjonująco opłacalna dla gracza szukającego uczciwej rozrywki.

Midt i nattens spænding kan man mærke pulsen stige, når hjulene snurrer og kortene vender sig med præcision, for på casino online udenlandsk findes der spil, der bringer både strategi og held i spil, mens atmosfæren får dig til at glemme tiden og jagten på den næste gevinst skaber en elektrisk stemning af forventning og drøm.