Harlequin Ducks at Barnegat Lighthouse

We visited Barnegat Lighthouse State Park to see the Harlequin Ducks. Others have reported seeing 20 or more, but we only saw three. The lighting was good today and this year's pictures came out better than last year's. In fact, we are so happy with them that Mike has agreed that he'll never again drag Chris onto a jetty made of boulders with treacherous crevices in 35 degree weather and high winds where Mary twisted her ankle.

Harlequin Ducks at Barnegat Lighthouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday, a colleague told Mike about the Harlequin Ducks that spend the winter on the rocky coast at Barnegat Lighthouse off Long Beach. Chris just had to see them, so off we went at the start of the weekend in hopes of spotting this stunning waterfowl. The harlequin ducks were exactly where they had been a month earlier. It was definitely worth the drive as we felt well rewarded, and Chris even managed to overcome her irrational fear of walking along the huge rock jetty to see them. Now that we've seen them, we are having trouble deciding which is more beautiful, the Wood Duck or the Harlequin Duck. They both look like they have been hand painted.

Red-breasted Merganser at Barnegat Lighthouse

 

 

The red-breasted merganser looks like the common merganser. It prefers the salt water of Barnegat Bay to the freshwater of Lake Nelson.

Red-throated Loon at Barnegat Lighthouse

Long-tailed Ducks at Barnegat Lighthouse

These long-tailed ducked were an added bonus on our trip to Barnegat. There were many more of them than the Harlequins, and while not as strikingly colorful, they were very entertaining. There was great variety in their coloration, and only the male has the obviously long tail.