The past two days birding were very productive for winter sea birds. On Monday I joined a group of birders on an inshore pelagic trip as part of the Barnegat (NJ) Christmas Bird Count. We spent about ten hours on a boat patrolling the ocean boundaries of the area covered by the Bird Count in Ocean County, from Barnegat Inlet to the southern end of Holgate. On Tuesday I spent about four hours at the opposite end of the county, at Manasquan Inlet standing on the jetty on the Point Pleasant side. Both days were mostly highlighted by alcids - Razorbills and Dovekies, and small gulls - Bonaparte’s and Little.
The front end of a line of razorbills during morning flight. © S. Weiss
For the previous week or so, razorbills had been reported in huge numbers along the New Jersey coast from Sandy Hook to Cape May. Observers reported hundreds of birds passing each day. The birds didn’t disappoint us on Monday either. During the first hour of Monday’s pelagic we tallied an amazing 1,280 razorbills. The birds were moving along the water in groups of two or three up to groups of four or five dozen. The numbers dropped the rest of the day, but we still added a couple hundred more by day’s end. Dovekies, much smaller and less common near shore, were also on the move through the area. We managed two from the boat, one leading a passing flock of razorbills and a second one sitting on the water closer to shore. The treat of the day was an adult little gull that was spotted flying away from the boat. Little gulls are rare for Ocean County. They closely resemble Bonaparte’s in size and appearance.
Razorbill. © S. Weiss
Razorbills are pelagic birds in the alcid family. They nest on cliffs or rocky coasts and spend the winter on the open ocean. They are the most likely alcid to see from shore in New Jersey.
Razorbills. © S. Weiss
Razorbills in flight. Notice the white underwings. Dovekies flying with the razorbills would be about half the size and have all dark underwings.
Dovekie in midst of razorbills at Manasquan Inlet, NJ. © S. Weiss
On Tuesday at mid-morning, I headed to Point Pleasant where my friend Jason earlier spotted a pacific loon at Manasquan Inlet. Of course, by the time I had arrived the loon had already moved north into Monmouth County waters. The nice part of the jetty here is that it has a flat concrete path from the top of the beach out to jetty tip making it much less easy to traverse than the north jetty at Island Beach State Park. I wound up spending about four hours at the jetty sea watching in the on and off rain. For my time there I tallied 48 razorbills and six dovekies. Most of the razorbills were distant birds flying by, but several were close to the jetty and inlet. The individuals close to the inlet were easily detected by groups of Bonaparte’s gulls. The chattering gulls quickly pounced on the surfacing alcids, trying get the food that they brought up from below. A couple dovekies also came close to the jetty while the others were more distant flybys.
Dovekie. © S. Weiss
Dovekie are the smallest alcid on the East Coast. They are slightly less than half the size of a razorbill. Its tiny size can make it very difficult to spot on less than calm seas. They appear neckless and have a stubby bill.
Dovekie. © S. Weiss
Notice the all dark underwing, as opposed to the white underwing of a razorbill. Dovekie are rare from land in New Jersey. There can be several seasons when there are no sightings to just a handful statewide, and usually as distant flybys.
But, just as the day before, the highlight was when another little gull made an appearance. After a brief trip back to my car, I was walking back out on the jetty when I noticed an interesting gull foraging just off the jetty tip. I excitedly pointed it out to Jason who was walking with me. He immediately, and just as excited, identified it as a little gull. Jason is considered by many as a gull expert, me included. He is the go-to guy for gull identification. This bird was a beautiful adult in basic plumage, the best looks of one I ever had. It moved out away from the jetty but remained in the area foraging with Bonaparte’s gulls for probably an hour or so. It’s all dark underwings made it easier for other birders that showed up to find it moving in and about the other small gulls. What was a dreary day weather-wise, was a satisfying birding day.
Little gull. © S. Weiss
There is no gull species in the world smaller than Little Gull. Sightings of little gull in New Jersey are rare and, for whatever reason, extremely rare off of Ocean County. Little gull is very similar in appearance to the slightly larger Bonaparte's Gull, with which they are usually found associating.
Little gull. © S. Weiss
All the field marks for identifying Little Gull are evident in the above four photos of this adult in basic (nonbreeding) plumage: uniform, gray mantle and upper wings lacking black tips; smudgy remnant of its alternate (breeding) plumage dark hood (this feature is present on all ages); very dark underwings (only on adults) from the armpit out to near the tip, with a distinct white border along the trailing edge and tip on both upper and undersides, blunted wingtips.
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