New Jersey: Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck & Purple Sandpiper

Overview of New Jersey: Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck & Purple Sandpiper

Visit the Jersey Shore during it’s most serene season: winter. The crowds of sunbathers have left months ago and they have been replaced by bird species found here only in the coldest months! During this long-weekend trip we will visit local winter hotspots to search for flocks of wintering waterfowl, shorebirds, loons and any of the other rotating cast of characters that call the Mid-Atlantic home during this time of year. We will visit Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, which hosts a flock of Harlequin Ducks as well as Purple Sandpipers, Great Cormorants, and Common Eiders each year.

We will also visit various North Shore, Barnegat Bay and/or Long Beach Island local hotspots, keeping an eye on the latest reports to maximize out species list, particularly with harder-to-get local wintering species, such as Short-eared Owl, Snow Bunting, and various gull species, such as Iceland and Glaucous Gulls or Eurasian Wigeon. A long and exciting list of other rarities are always possible in this area in winter, as well as more locally common species such as Fish Crow and Black Vulture. This winter trip to the Mid-Atlantic is a great way start or finish off  your own year list!

Primary Targets: Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Purple Sandpiper

Secondary Targets: Snowy Owl, Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, King Eider, Razorbill, Black-legged Kittiwake, Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, Common Eider, Fish Crow, Black Vulture, Eurasian Wigeon.

Read about US Endemics to the Lower 48