Barnegat Light SP 12/5--7 Species of Shorebirds

With warmish weather predicted for today, I suggested to Greg P. that we check out Barnegat Light SP to get some winter birds without the winter. It was a good idea except that warm weather this time of year often brings fog, which it did, hindering our ability to find any rarities like King Eider (or Snowy Owl, which I was secretly hoping for).

However, we did get to see 7 species of shorebirds, which is pretty good for late autumn--one of them, Red Knot, was a time & place rarity. We saw it standing along on the beach when a small flock of Snow Buntings landed in its vicinity. Ruddy Turnstones were abundant and not shy as we walked past them on the jetty.

Purple Sandpipers, one of the species you go to Barnegat Light in winter to get, were also present on the jetty, though not as numerous as the turnstones.

The other species you brave the jetty to see is Harlequin Duck and they were there in all their goofy splendor, both off the jetty on the inlet side and in the proverbial mixed flock of ducks (Common Eiders and all 3 scoters) fairly close to shore on the ocean side. We spent a long time looking into the misty waters trying to tease out a King Eider but had no luck. With that kind of light, it was going to have to be a drake in full breeding plumage before I'd be confident in my i.d.

The other shorebird we were surprised to see was a single Willet (Western) on the shore surrounded by turnstones, Dunlins and few Sanderlings. The "Western" distinction is important because one of these days these birds are going to be split into separate species and I'll gain an "armchair lifer."

By the time we turned around and walked back on the beach (once down the jetty is enough for me) the fog had cleared and it was just an overcast day so we were able to scan the inlet from the concrete walkway and find a few more birds on the Island Beach side.

Shari & I are to Florida for a week--I don't expect to get any life birds down there (it gets harder and harder the bigger the list gets) but I do expect to get many charismatic FOYs like spoonbills, storks, and with luck, Limpkins.

My list for today (Greg has a couple I didn't get and vice versa).
24 species
Brant  5
Common Eider  20
Harlequin Duck  10
Surf Scoter  2
White-winged Scoter  2
Black Scoter  10
Long-tailed Duck  5
Common Loon  5
American Oystercatcher  5
Willet (Western)  1
Ruddy Turnstone  50
Red Knot  1    Gray bird with some residual barring on flanks, medium sized straight bill. 
Sanderling  10
Dunlin  25
Purple Sandpiper  10
Ring-billed Gull  5
Herring Gull  10
Great Black-backed Gull  10
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1    Heard, parking lot
American Crow  6
Carolina Wren  1    Heard
Northern Mockingbird  1
Snow Bunting  13
Yellow-rumped Warbler  8