Needing to burn some vacation time, I took the day off and headed east to the New Jersey shore. The drive was mostly a straight shot along Interstate 195, which stretches from Trenton to Belmar, and took me less than an hour.
The Shark River Inlet is where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean at Belmar Beach, and I was hoping I’d see some waterbirds that I don’t normally find on my side of the state.
I walked onto the breezy beach and was initially disappointed that I saw no birds on the water’s edge. Only a few gulls flew by offshore, too far out to identify.
My luck changed as I approached the inlet. A couple of birds were floating in the ocean waves, and I’d only discover from looking at my photos later that they were common loons and a long-tailed duck.
Once I walked on top of the jetty, I spotted several brants on both sides of the inlet. Brants aren’t uncommon, but this was only the third time I’d recorded seeing them. The first was in 2019 while walking the perimeter of Liberty Island on a visit to the Statue of Liberty, and the second was at Barnegat Bay in 2022. The common denominator of the three sightings was the shore.
A few song sparrows sang in the trees I passed as I made my way back to my car parked off Ocean Avenue.
While disappointed that I didn’t see much else, I still count the trip a success. 🦅
The Jersey Birder 
Gorgeous shots of the Brants! We don’t see them around the Chesapeake Bay, I have to drive couples hours to Ocean City, MD, to see them. Unique looking!
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Thanks. Maybe they’ll pass through some day, but they appear to be north-oriented.
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