Seabirds at Barnegat Light

For years, reports of the winter birds at Barnegat Lighthouse on  the New Jersey coast have caught my attention.  Weather recently looked cold enough to hold the birds from going north, while providing a window for good driving conditions. So, with a good friend, the trip happened.

The lighthouse stands 171 feet above the sea on Long Beach Island.  The island itself is jammed with expensive vacation homes and clusters of  businesses for the mobs of summer visitors.  In winter, it is quiet except for many contractors adding to the expensive real estate. 

The lighthouse is a state park with exceptionally clean restrooms and parking.  (Just be sure to exit before the gate is locked at 4 pm.  In winter there is a small amount of parking outside.)  The birds are seen mostly in the jetty, where a heavy-duty line of stone attempts to hold back the sea.  The first several hundred feet of the jetty has a finished surface and sturdy steel railing.  Beyond that point, it is necessary to climb up on the rocks with great care. It is a windy place, and should there be ice, it would be risky. We had good weather.

There were a large number of Long-tailed Ducks in the jetty that would dive for as long as three minutes at a time. The males are a strikingly beautiful diving duck.  The tail seems to more often be trailing in the water.  When the males display, the neck is elongated, as below, and it seemed that that was often accompanied by an erect tail.

Long-tailed Duck, male

While the male and female are similar in size and shape, she has no elongated tail nor more patterning than a black patch on her neck roughly mimicing the male. Her beak is plain.

Long-tailed Duck pair

Sadly, I have no video to capture the male's musical piping call.  It complements the spirited behavior of these little ducks.

The currents in the jetty on a windy day toss the birds about, making it hard to catch clear photos, and their fast movements make images hard to obtain. I did get a few.  The first is in-flight.  There is little warning of these fast fliers launching into the air. This image is one of only four flight photos in 1-1/2 days.

The other impossible image to capture is when they decide to dive.  This is a fitting ending to my Long-tailed Duck images.

There were other attractions beginning with Common Loons often coming very close to the rocks.

So, what was bringing the loons to the jetty?  Little green crabs.

Another occasional visitor was the Common Merganser.  Sure, I have lots of images of them, but this one of a female was notable for the way the sun made the bird's plumage dance.  Plus, she was so close that I could not get her tale in the frame. 

Did I mention that it was really cold in the mornings?  Above my lower layers were insulated bibs and an ultra warm hooded parka with heat packs in mittens.  As we photographed, there were two Coast Guard patrol boats outside the jetty.  It brought back memories of when I tested on small Navy boats out on the Chesapeake Bay in January. It was never pleasant.  To bring it back clearly, the boats finished patrol and sped in the jetty with crew sheltering on the upper deck. Rough going.

This was a good introduction to Barnegat.  I'd never been in photo range of Long-tail Ducks before.  Maybe next year I could find Snowy Owls and Harlequin Ducks?  These birds are often in the area, but not this time.  They are a good reason to try this again in 2020.

Paul Schmitt