This weekend, I went to Barnegat, New Jersey with a friend to photograph waterfowl, specifically the Harlequin Duck. Not only did I get to see my gorgeous life bird Harlequins, I also saw four more unexpected life birds.
After finding this beautiful male, we came across some Sandpipers on the rocks. My face apparently lit up when my friend told me they were Purple Sandpipers.
Further down the jetty, a flock of waterfowl was floating not far from the beach. This flock contained three more life birds: Common and King Eiders along with Black Scoters.
The King Eiders were a rare find and we got great looks! They are beautiful even though we did not see any adult males.
Another huge highlight was finally getting close to Long-tailed Ducks and Surf Scoter.
The Sandpipers along the rocks also allowed us to get very close. There were a lot of Dunlin.
Lots and lots of Dunlin.
Along with Ruddy Turnstones…
And even more Purple Sandpipers.
This turned out to be one of my best photo trips! The New Jersey coast has been very good to me!