Tag Archives: barnegat light house bird watching

Birding trips at Cape May New Jersey, Birding Trips in New Jersey

Photographing the Atlantic Brant in New Jersey

By Sally Siko

The Atlantic Brant is a species I’ve been trying to photograph up close for years but with no luck.
Happily I finally had an opportunity to spend time with a flock of them this past January while birding at Barnegat Lighthouse SP in eastern NJ.
Now I know that to some folks out there, these guys are no big deal.
Indeed they are a common sight in the northeast but since I live down in NC, seeing a Brant is pretty special.



I had an absolute blast trying to photograph these guys as they picked at the stuff clinging to the pile of rocks which made up the jetty.
It wasn’t easy though.
The goose’s black heads & necks disappeared against the dark backdrop of the black rocks behind them.
Finding some sort of middle ground with the exposure was key.
In the end, it is what it is photo wise but gosh I’m stoked to add the Brant to my 2024 list!

The Brant’s feed almost exclusively on eelgrass but (as shown in this series of photos) they’ll also dine some aquatic invertebrates, seaweed and sea lettuce. When foraging in agricultural areas they’ll eat grass and winter-sown cereals when available.
Spending a great deal of their time at sea or in coastal areas means that finding freshwater to drink couple pose a problem. Happily these geese have evolved with special glands which remove salt, allowing them to drink ocean water when freshwater is scarce.
That’s pretty cool huh?



Breeding in the Arctic regions of northern Canada, no other goose nests as far north as the Brant. And oh my goodness do they ever fly far south too!
Families of Brant’s which nest in the western arctic, will migrate as far south, as California, while eastern breeders will migrate into New England, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and occasionally (in much smaller numbers) all the way down into North Carolina.
They’ll stick around the coast of New Jersey until mid to late May so you’ve still got plenty of time to go see them before the year is through.

By the way, I’ll be hosting more birding tours in eastern NJ this year so check the calendar below for trip dates and booking info.


Photo by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Birding trips at Cape May New Jersey, Birding Trips in New Jersey

Harlequin Ducks in Eastern NJ

By Sally Siko

Impeccably dressed in a dapper plumage of steel gray, rust, white and black few species of duck match the rizz of the Harlequin Drake.
While I’d seen this bird before, I’d never had the opportunity to photograph a male in breeding plumage until yesterday.



I spotted these feathered gems while walking on the jetty at Barnegat Light SP on Long Beach Island in eastern NJ.
Just getting in a position to photograph this bird required a bit of patience in negotiating the slippery rock jetty.
Each step must be taken with care, particularly while shouldering a camera.
The going was slow, with each measured step it was increasingly difficult to rein in my excitement.
Especially once I saw this small flock of Harlequins up ahead sitting on the rocks ahead, perfectly framed in that good-good light.
I was so worried that the ducks would fly off on my approach but as it turned out, they really didn’t care once I crouched down low to capture these pics.
Freak’n awesome!



A familiar species to many living in northeastern coastal areas of the western hemisphere, Harlequin Ducks spread the winter months primarily along the coast of Atlantic Canada and New England.
Representing a point of their most southernmost winter range, BLSP is one of the best places on the east coast to find these beauties.

Each October, the Harlequins arrive to the park spend the cooler months hunting for food alongside the jetty.
And what a great place to find a snack!
These guys are voracious eaters of Snails, periwinkles, small clams, limpets, chitons, blue mussels, hermit crabs and amphipods, all of which are available to find as the ducks prod and peck within the cracks of the jetty rocks.
They will stick around through mid-March before they head north for their breeding grounds in Greenland and Canada.
This means you’ve still got a short of time to see one before the winter ends.
By the way, I’m going to lead a trip at nearby Cape May NJ later this year. Check the calendar below
for booking details!



Photo by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Birding trips at Cape May New Jersey, Birding Trips in New Jersey

Long-tailed Ducks at Barnegat Light State Park New Jersey

By Sally Siko

Nice to add this Long-tailed Duck to my 2024 list. I spotted these beauties while birding in eastern NJ earlier this week.
I’d been trying to get a nice close up look at one for years but hadn’t had much luck until this gorgeous pair floated right up to me while standing on the rock jetty at Barnegat Light SP.
I was able to spend several minutes enjoying the Long-tail’s as they paddled in close to the rocks, bobbing and diving into the waves.



These guys are voracious eaters of mussels, clams, periwinkles, crustaceans and small fish which they glean from the bottom of the water (kinda like the way warblers use sunlight to spot insects in trees).
Unlike most diving ducks which propel themselves exclusively with their large, webbed feet, the Long-tailed uses its wings in a penguin like fashion. This adaptation allows them to move faster and deeper underwater than other ducks. In fact they have been documented diving well past 200 feet when searching for food!


Breeding near ponds and wetlands in the Queen Elizabeth Islands in far northern Canada as well as in northern Greenland, they leave the tundra lands sometime in October to arrive in NJ in early December. Occasionally a few Long-tails show up as far south as North Carolina where they are sometimes spotted in the basin pond at Ft.Fisher or bobbing in the waves of the Atlantic ocean along the Outer Banks.
They’ll stick around until late February so you still got plenty of time to find one before the year is through.
Aren’t they gorgeous?!

By the way, I’ve added more than 80 new birding tour dates to my Best Life Birding trip schedule.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!



Photo by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5