Let’s take a little trip back to the images that inspired this blog in the first place. In February I went on my first trip with the Heinz Refuge Photo Group, to Barnegat Light on the Jersey Shore. In the winter the Inlet attracts a variety of ducks and shorebirds you don’t get to see other times of the year.

The challenge is getting to them! To get close you have to walk out on the stone jetty, which can be dangerous when it’s wet or icy. People have been known to fall between the rocks and get stuck.

The day of our visit was sunny, cold and very windy. Fortunately the jetty was dry, and we walked the whole length of it. The ducks were very close in, I saw 6 new bird species, and it was a great photo day for me and my new zoom lens.

All of these birds were new species for me.

Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck with an itch, and demonstrating a perfect belly-flop.

Red-breasted Merganser, well-coifed, and on a bad hair day

Common Loon – my first view of Loons. They were silent though. So I didn’t hear their signature eerie calls.

What the well-dressed photographer wears at Barnegat Inlet. Double mufflers! Colleen, trying to keep warm.

The stars of the Barnegat Show are the Harlequin Ducks. The colors of the males’ plumage are amazing. They were out at the end of the jetty, so we had to walk a long way to see them. Hopping from large boulder to large boulder was slow and tiring. The payoff was worth it, though!

Harlequins like the surf rough, and had no difficulty standing up to the waves, even if it meant getting a face full of water. Cold water.

Coming up: More Winter Birds