The Jersey Shore: Another Winter Visit To Long Beach Island.
Thanks to my Facebook memories, on Thursday, I was reminded three years ago I was on Long Beach Island experiencing “the coastal blizzard of 2022”. I remember vividly hearing the howling winds, seeing the drifting snow and feeling the bitter cold that followed the storm like it was yesterday. And even more the beauty of the ice and snow covered beach. It was an experience I will never forget. This is a link to a blog post with photos and thoughts on the “blizzard of 2022”. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/fire-and-ice-a-frigid-icy-morning-and-fiery-sunrise-at-ship-bottom-long-beach-island/
The Facebook memories resulted in a decision to return Long Beach Island this weekend. I love the ocean, even in the Winter. So, after a morning appointment at my law office in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, I was on the road, taking the three hour drive to the New Jersey Shore. This was my fourth visit to the 18 mile long barrier island along the Atlantic Ocean. I was here with my family im 1989, myself on New Year’s Day 2022 after a break up in a relationship , and again for the “blizzard of 2022”.
I was staying at the LBI Hotel in Surf City, again, and was pleased to find my room available when I arrived around 2 p.m. I checked in unpacked and was off the the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park located on the northern end of the island. Like on my last two Winter visits there was almost no traffic on my 8 miles drive to the State Park under the cloudy skies. The Winter population on the island is about 10,000 but it swells to over 100,000 in the Summer. 
The island is divided into six separate municipalities. You can usually tell when you are entering a separate municipality by the large blue water tower with the name of the municipality written on it. The island has been continuously occupied since 1690. The first occupants were associated with the whaling and shipping industry.
The hazardous currents, sand bars and shoals near the island resulted in a light house being built in 1834. . This lighthouse abandoned due to shifting seas and the Barnegat Lighthouse,that still exists was built by Civil War general George . Meade in 1859.
Although I’ve seen it a few times it is always an impressive sight even under the dreary cloudy skies. 
The temperature was mild, for January, in the low 40’s when I walked out to the rock jetty that begins at the lighthouse.
This impressive rock jetty is why I made this trip. Many species of shore birds migrate here in the Winter and feed on the mollusks that leave in the pools of water in the rocks. I haven’t had much luck finding wildlife near my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania so I’d thought I’d see what I could find down here. And, of course, as I noted, I love the ocean in the Winter too .
It didn’t take long to see some bird activity. These red breasted mergansers were swimming in the waters off of the jetty near the lighthouse.
These birds breed in the boreal forests of Canada and migrate here in the Winters. I am not an expert, so please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe these are females or juveniles. 
I soon found the walkway on the jetty was closed due to a construction project. . They are placing dredge pipes across the walkway. I had to walk around the project,
and along the sand dunes. I didn’t mind the walk,
and found, the remains of some crabs,
left overs from a seagull meal, along the way.
There was seaweed scattered on the rocks near the jetty, a sign it was low tide since these rocks are covered in high tide. 
I climbed up onto the huge rocks and boulders that make of the mile long jetty , built to protect the lighthouse and northern shore of the island from the storms and waves of the Atlantic Ocean .
It was windy, and although the temperature was near 40 degrees, the raw wind made it feel a lot colder. However, I didn’t mind because I immediately saw the many shore birds swimming in the rough waters near the jetty. I saw my first long tailed ducks, this is the male,
and this a female.
I would see many more of these beautiful ducks and large flocks of red breasted mergansers in the waters off of the jetty. This is a male red breasted merganser, 
I hopped along on the large boulders, trying to pay attention to where I was stepping and not fall in a crevice. The hundreds of birds along the jetty kept grabbing my attention. A light rain began to fall making it feel even colder , and walking on the rocks more difficult.
I saw a large flocks of greater scaups, and
a lot of sea gulls. This is an American herring gull, there were dozens of them,
and, I believe these is a juveniles on therocks and flying overhead. Again, I am no expert, juvenile American herring gulls are hard to distinguish from juvenile great black backed gulls. 
This I believe is a juvenile great black backed gull,
and these adult great black-backed gulls. 
Double crested cormorants were perched on the rocks while others swam in the rough waters along the jetty. 
I saw more many more long tailed ducks,
and a large flocks of brants, short legged coastal geese related to Canada geese.
A large flock of another bird I had never seen before flew over the jetty,
and began feeding in the rocks. They were purple sandpipers. They also breed in the far northern Artic tundra in North America and Europe.
As I was searching for birds swimming along the jetty I saw this pair of eyes staring at me. I believe it was a harbor seal. I was excited to see this aquatic critter braving the rough waters, 
The rain continued to intensify and the boulders were getting wet and more slippery. 
I left the jetty were the jetty extends into the Atlantic Ocean.
The waves were crashing on the shore and here I saw another unique birds of the far north, a common eider.
This is a juvenile. These birds breed on northern coast and migrate south in the Winter. 
And I saw another northern bird, a flock of female surf scoters.. These birds also breed in the far north. It started raining harder so I decided to walk back. The surf scorers would be the last birds I saw on my afternoon hike, It was a very productive walk. I was not disappointed. I saw many new species of birds and I enjoy sharing photos of them, and the beauty of thr ocean, here on my blog. Here is a link to a gallery on the website with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike. Long Beach Island: Barnegat jetty. Birds January 31 2025.
I walked back in the steady rain. I didn’t walk on the jetty since the boulders were very slippery from the rain. I walked on the sand dunes back to the lighthouse. 
On the way I noticed a few sea shells
,
a horseshoe crab shell and
a feather on the sand, all broguht there by seagulls I believe. 
I was soaked by the time I got back to the lighthouse.
I finished my 3 mile hike and took one last look at the rough waters of Barnegat Bay before driving back to my hotel. Here is a link to a gallery on the website with some more photos from 3 my hike. Long Beach Island: Barnegat jetty. January 31 2025.
It was after 5 pm. and getting dark as I drove the empty streets of the island. 
I was glad there was a guest laundry room at the hotel. I tossed my wet cloths in the dryer and called the Black Whale , my favorite restaurant on the island, for a reservation. I was surprised there were no tables available. I was hungry and looked for another restaurant and found the Zen Sushi restaurant. I had a delicious meal of sushi and seafood soup. I returned to my room, edited the many photos I took, and fell asleep, looking forward to exploring Long Beach Island in the morning, And, hopefully, find more wildlife and beautiful scenery to share. 
“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever”. Jacques Cousteau
“I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it’s because, in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and light changes, and ships change, it’s because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.” John F. Kennedy
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