Another visit to LBI - Barnegat Lighthouse Park & Jetty

Would I go back to Long Beach Island and bird again this year? The answer was yes. The forecast for today was for mid 60's with winds only 8-10 MPH. Another birder in a FB group I'm in showed pictures of 5 Piping Plovers she saw on the beach at Barnegat Light the previous Saturday. Awesome! I have been to the Meadows and the beaches in South Cape May where Piping Plovers have also been seen this year but I hadn't had any luck spotting any though did see some American Oystercatchers. Last summer I was lucky enough to see a group of 3 Piping Plovers but to see a larger number of them even from a distance would be so cool. I also have wanted to bird at Holgate which is the opposite end of LBI and it closes to birders on April 1st. First stop was Barnegat Jetty where the Harlequin Ducks were roosting in the sun though it was only early AM. I walked out about 3/4 way just before the algae started to get bad. I didn't want a repeat of the fall I'd had there in early Feb. As I walked along the jetty I saw Ruddy Turnstones roosting, Purple Sandpipers foraging, Common Loons (going into breeding plummage)swimming and diving in the inlet, Long-tailed Ducks, American Oystercatchers flying in tandem and courting.

After walking the jetty out I went down to the beach area but no Piping Plovers just the American Oystercatchers that had been flying earlier. When I arrived back up by the lighthouse the White Pine trees had some birds that caught my eyes - Some Golden-crowned Kinglets and Pine Warblers, some house finches and White-throated sparrows on the ground.