Ruddy Turnstones at Barnegat Light

Beautiful sea ducks are the main reason so many birders visit Barnegat Light in the winter, but they are hardly the only birds to watch. The inlet's jetty also hosts a fair number of shorebirds. Five species predominate: Purple Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlin, Sanderling, and Black-bellied Plover. When I was last at the jetty, I did not see any Sanderlings, but there is usually a flock on the beaches there. (Perhaps they had flown across the inlet to Island Beach State Park.) All the rest were present, with Dunlin outnumbering the rest. I will have a post on them later in the week.

I saw relatively few Purple Sandpipers (normally a highlight at Barnegat Light) or Ruddy Turnstones on my last visit there, but both were on the jetty. In winter, Ruddy Turnstones lose the ruddiness that gives them their name, but they retain the distinctive bib and moustache. Ruddy Turnstones are one of the northerly breeders among shorebirds, with their breeding range covering parts of Nunavut and Greenland, as well as the northern coasts of Alaska and Siberia. Their winter range extends along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North and South America.

Here is a Ruddy Turnstone with a Purple Sandpiper. It is easy to see why shorebirds winter here, with a convenient mussel buffet. Turnstones switch from eating flies and other insects to a more varied diet in winter. Crustaceans and mollusks are their main prey items, but they also will scavenge animals killed by other birds and refuse left by humans. Speaking of refuse, the gray item in the lower right of this photo appears to be a fishing weight.

Harlequin Ducks at Barnegat Light

One of the most popular sea ducks during winter in North America is the Harlequin Duck. The adult male's blue, red, and white plumage is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. The female is brown but retains echoes of the male's harlequin pattern in its facial markings. The ducks are highly social, spending the winter in small groups whose interactions are delightful to watch.

Harlequin Ducks breed along fast-moving rivers in the far northwest and northeastern Canada. In the winter, they migrate to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, where they seek out rocky coastlines. In the southern parts of their winter range, where the beaches are sandy, they are often found along jetties and seawalls.

Handfuls of Harlequin Ducks are present all along the northeastern U.S. coast, but one of the best places to watch them is along the jetty at Barnegat Light in New Jersey. This is a consistently great spot for two reasons. First, it attracts a large flock; when I was at the jetty two weeks ago, I counted about 15, but there are often more than that. Second, you can walk out along the jetty (at your own risk!) and see them at very close range.

They bob up and down on the waves, staying in close proximity to the jetty even as the waves crash against it. The ducks dive to feed on a variety of invertebrates such as crustaceans and mollusks, which they pick off the rocks underwater.

Historical Eiders on the Jersey Shore

In his post yesterday on Common Eiders, Corey quoted Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion on eider distribution: “Several decades ago, King Eider was the expected wintering eider south of New England.  Sightings of Common Eider were considerably fewer.  This has changed, and Common Eider now lives up to its name, outnumbering King Eider along the mid-Atlantic coast.” Curious about this, I decided to check some historical sources to see when things changed.

John Bull's Birds of the New York Area (1964) states that King Eider was historically seen more frequently than Common Eider off Montauk in Long Island. It attributes changes in winter distribution to population growth at the Common Eider's breeding grounds. For example, the breeding flock at Muscongus Bay in Maine grew from 800 in 1949 to 6,000 in 1959. Bull also mentions an impressive irruption of King Eiders in the winter of 1887, in which flocks of 20 and 30 were recorded.

For historical records in coastal New Jersey, one place to turn is Witmer Stone's Bird Studies at Old Cape May. This book was first published in 1937 based on observations from the preceding decades. What makes the book valuable is that Stone reports his own observations as well as those of other ornithologists and sometimes cites 18th and 19th century observers as well. Though dated, it provides an interesting window into past bird distribution in the state. Regarding eiders, Stone first notes that many observers (including hunters) were unfamiliar with either King or Common Eiders. (Stone refers to Common Eiders as American Eiders.) He then lists observations for Common Eiders in the Cape May area:

The only records that we have were made by the Audubon Association wardens stationed at the Point. A female or immature male was seen by William Rusling on the ocean off Cape May Point near the jetties in front of the Villa Maria. It remained there from October 10 to 14, 1935, and he watched it several times a day for four days having it in good view, once within twenty-five feet. When caught by the tide and carried out from shore it immediately swam back to the jetties. He identified it as an American Eider.

Three were seen off the end of the jetty at the entrance to the Harbor, on November 3, 1936, by James Tanner.

In the Barnegat Bay region several of these ducks have been seen. Charles Urner sends me the following list: One on November 3, 1930 (Harry Ridgway); a drake, January 11, 1931; one on December 27, 1931 (Lester Walsh and Charles Nichols); two on December 17, 1932 (Oscar Eyre); one drake, on December 26, 1932 (Urner and others); one young drake, February 18, 1934 (Urner).

Turning to King Eider, Stone notes that most of the specimens are young birds and that there had been no recent sightings in Cape May County, but that specimens had been shot in 1928 (in Great Bay) and 1900 (on the lower Delaware). He continues:

Charles Urner sends me the following list of individuals observed in the Barnegat Bay region by him or his associates: One December 15, 1924, (Watson); one March 3, 1929 (Jacques); two November 9, 1930; one January 14, 1934; two February 4, 1934; four February 18, 1934. The 1934 birds were seen immediately following the extremely cold weather of that winter which was undoubtedly the cause of their southward wandering.

The impression I get from Stone is that neither species was common but that both made regular appearances along New Jersey's southern coast, either singly or in groups. I do not know of a similar resource for more recent decades, though one could probably piece it together by going through back issues of New Jersey Birds and its predecessors. As an alternative, I turned to archived Christmas Bird Counts. Using historical CBC data presents problems since participation and coverage have changed over time and count circles have gone in and out of existence. However, using birds per party hour controls somewhat for effort and New Jersey has some long-running counts along the coast. Here is graph for New Jersey since the winter of 1940-41, roughly Stone's time to ours.

This leaves a somewhat muddled impression because it is dominated by a few tall spikes and lacks a clear trend, though sightings of Common Eiders have increased in frequency in the second half of the time period. Adding Delaware and Maryland shows a somewhat clearer trend.

This shows an increase in Common Eiders in the second half of the time period, while King Eider sightings have held more of less steady. These days Common Eiders are fairly easy to find along New Jersey's shore since large numbers winter at or migrate past Barnegat Inlet and Cape May Point, with smaller numbers wintering farther south. King Eiders are regular, at least in New Jersey, but are usually single birds and are much harder to find. So it seems, at least, that Common Eiders have become much more frequent and abundant in the Mid-Atlantic states since the early 20th century. What remains unclear to me is whether King Eider was really more common than Common Eider in this area, at least south of Long Island. So far, the sources I have checked seem to show relatively equal abundance for the two species in years past.

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A Washed-up Skate

At the second site we visited during Saturday's trip to Barnegat Inlet, there was a skate washed up on the beach. The tracks and dropping around the skate indicate that some birds had already discovered the skate's remains. The skate has a bloody patch on its right side, presumably from scavengers picking at it. While some openings on this skate are probably natural (the eyes and mouth need openings), others are more likely the work of scavengers. I am not entirely sure which holes fit in which category.

The photo above is a close-up of the skate's nose, eyes, and mouth.

Another point that I am not sure about is which species of skate was on the beach. There are six species of skate present in the Atlantic off the northeastern United States. Its translucent head suggests that this may be a Clearnose Skate, but I am not certain that this feature is diagnostic, especially for an animal that is getting picked on. Clearnose Skate is a southern species; according to the NOAA site New Jersey is at the northern end of this animal's range.


I did not realize this at the time, but it is possible to imagine a human face in the skate's remains if you view them from a certain perspective.

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Added to Macro Monday.

Birds at Barnegat Inlet

Yesterday morning I went with my parents and sister to meet up with my uncle and his wife at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. During winter months, this site offers some of the best coastal birding in the state. One of its major advantages as a birding site is that it allows relatively close approach. Birds that winter there seem used to being around large numbers of people and tend not to flush as quickly as at other sites. This allows close viewing of birds that we do not see very often.

It is the most reliable site in the state for finding northern waterfowl such as Common Eiders and Harlequin Ducks. Both of these species, as well as scoters, were present in modete numbers yesterday. I only saw one Harlequin Duck myself, but there was a larger flock farther down the beach. Other wintering waterfowl such as Long-tailed Ducks and Buffleheads were nowhere near their winter peak numbers. In addition to the headline ducks, there was a flock of Brant next to the jetty.

Several shorebird species were present along the jetty. A small flock of Black-bellied Plovers were hiding in the beach grass. Flocks of American Oystercatchers flew past us over in the inlet. On the jetty itself, there were Ruddy Turnstones, Dunlin, and Purple Sandpipers. The largest group of shorebirds that I noted was a flock of Dunlin numbering around 100. Above is a Dunlin and a Ruddy Turnstone loafing on the same rock. I posted other photos of Dunlin and Turnstones at my Flickr account.

Gulls, though abundant, should not be neglected. This handsome immature Herring Gull started its long call just as I took its photograph.

Walking from the lighthouse to the far end of the jetty is always exciting. I am lured farther and farther out by the prospect or seeing new birds or having a better view of birds I have seen distantly or in poor light. Plus there are constantly new birds – sandpipers, sparrows, etc. – popping up from between the jetty's rocks. On the way back I am more tired, more worried about my footing, and have seen most of the bird species the jetty has to offer. At least the return trip offers a marvelous view:

In the afternoon we walked along the "High Bar" beach to the west of the lighthouse. Most of the birds were the same as at the jetty – small flocks of Brant, Black-bellied Plovers, and Dunlin, with a few other water birds in the mix. One new addition was a hatch-year Merlin perched at the top of a bare tree. Not bad at all for a fall day!

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Beware of Jetties

A New Jersey birder recently visited the Barnegat Lighthouse and, while he was walking out to see the Harlequin Ducks, fell head-first into the jetty. The tide was coming in, but fortunately he was able to summon help by calling 911. You can read more and see pictures of the incident at his website.

Barnegat Harlequins

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been visiting family in New Jersey for the holidays. Today several of us were down at Barnegat Light, a nineteenth-century lighthouse and state park. Barnegat Light is an important historic site for its longtime role in ship navigation along the New Jersey coast, and it is a beautifully scenic location. Visitors may climb the steps to the top of the lighthouse for a view with a thirty-mile radius on a clear day. The site is also a great birding spot, particularly for seabirds and waterfowl.

Harlequin ducks have visited the lighthouse regularly for the past several years. They and a large flock of common eiders can be found at the far end of the jetty, either on the inlet side or the ocean side. I must say that today I had my best-ever looks at harlequin ducks, up close and in full sunlight. This was much better than picking out a single bird in the snow, as was the case last February. On the jetty itself, there were several purple sandpipers, a ruddy turnstone, and a snow bunting. All were seen at close range. Many of these birds were life birds for my mother and sister, though I had seen them before at one time or another.

On the walk back to the lighthouse for lunch, we spotted a peregrine falcon land on the lighthouse roof. Later, another birder reported seeing this falcon plucking the feathers from some hapless bird for its lunch. After our own lunch, our dad joined us for a climb to the top of the lighthouse tower for views of Barnegat Bay and its barrier islands. The image at left shows the jetties along Barnegat Inlet; the harlequin ducks stick close to the inlet side of the south jetty, near where the sand ends and the ocean begins. Today the common eiders were on the ocean side of the south jetty, though sometimes they can be found in the inlet. The image below is looking north towards Island Beach State Park, on the southern end of the long peninsula that extends north to the top of Barnegat Bay and Point Pleasant. Island Beach State Park is another good birding spot in all seasons.

For a final stop, we walked the beach along High Bar, a spit of land that is part of the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR. Along the beach we spotted American oystercatchers (always a favorite), dunlin, red-breasted mergansers, and brant. A northern harrier was working the dunes. The real treat was a chorus of vocalizing long-tailed ducks. Each bird gave a call that sounded a bit like an oboe or clarinet. I enjoy hearing birds as much as seeing them, and I was not aware of how beautiful these birds sound.

Species List: 30 species seen

Brant
Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
Long-tailed Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Peregrine Falcon
American Oystercatcher
Ruddy Turnstone
Purple Sandpiper
Dunlin
American Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Fish Crow
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Snow Bunting
Northern Cardinal
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow