New Jersey in Winter Intro

New Jersey in winter offers great opportunities to see and photograph upwards of 30 species of ducks, geese and swan, many at close range and in their finest “Breeding Plumages”, along with many other over-wintering species as we scan the Ocean, Bays, Marshes, Woods and Fields.

Northern Harrier male by Rick Bowers ©

If you told people that you were planning to visit the Jersey Shore, most would think you were planning a Summer Vacation; however in the winter, the Jersey Shore hosts tens of thousands of Brant, Snow Geese, Canada Geese and Ducks, along with hundreds of Tundra Swans. In recent winters, these flocks also have attracted rarities like Eurasian Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Barnacle Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose and Tundra Swan. The large expanses of salt marsh are patrolled by Northern Harriers and possibly a Rough-legged Hawk by day, only to be replaced by Short-eared Owls as sunset approaches. Bald and Golden Eagles, and Peregrine Falcon may also be seen hunting in these same areas. Scanning through flocks of Ring-billed, Herring and/or Great Black-backed Gulls, one could find Lesser Black-backed, Iceland, Glaucous, Bonaparte’s and/or Black-headed Gulls mixed in. Other species we should find include Carolina Chickadee, Winter Finches and Sparrows. Also they are predicting this winter to be a good one for some irruptive species such as Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common Redpoll and White-winged Crossbill.

Black Scoter male by Rick Bowers ©

Note:  Although our Hotel location is almost equidistant from both Newark and Philadelphia Airports, we recommend that you plan on flying into Philadelphia instead of Newark.