Surprisingly enough, there are quite a few birdwatching hotspots in New Jersy that are referenced in my birding magazines. Most surprised of all is DH because that's where he's from and he didn't think there could be so many places. :)
2 locations in NJ make the 25 favorite places to see owls list. #19 is Jakes Landing Road in Cape May and #24 is Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.
Cape May is #5 on the favorite places to see eagles list.
2 locations made the favorite places to see warblers list; Cape May coming in at #1 and the Delaware Water Gap coming in at #24.
Yet another gold star for Cape May! :) It's number 9 on the favorite places to see hummingbirds; the Cape May Bird Observatory to be exact.
A prime birding spot on New Jersey's ocean shore is Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. It's located in Barnegat Light and its habitat includes ocean, sandy beach, dunes, and remnant maritime forest. In winter you can see Harlequin Ducks and a distant spectacle beyond the ocean breakers is the feeding frenzy of diving Northern Gannets. Red-throated and Common Loons can sometimes be seen in passing during fall migration. The best time to go is mid-September through mid-April.
3 locations make the favorite places to see hawks list; #1 being Cape May Point Hawk Watch; #20 is Chimney Rock Hawk Watch; and #22 is Sandy Hook Migration Watch.
Not surprisingly, 4 locations make the favorite places to see shorebirds list. #2 is Cape May Point, #5 is Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, #7 Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, and last but not least, #22 Delaware Bay.
This is an interesting hotspot, the Allendale Celery Farm. It's in Allendale and it covers 107 acres, freshwater. It was once a working farm but is now a wildlife oasis that has freshwater marshes, ponds, and woodlands. It's easy walking with its main loop trail covering about a mile but after heavy rains, it can be muddy or icy in winter. There are 250 species of birds here, included but not limited to Wood Duck, Tree Swallow, Green Heron, Yellow Warbler, and Common Yellowthroat, just to name a few.
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- KylesMom409
on Jan. 14, 2012 at 10:39 PM