Nemesis Bird 2 - Iceland Gull

After returning from Duluth and finally seeing my Nemesis Bird - Great Gray Owl, it was time for me to decide on what species should become my next #1 Nemesis Bird.  Should it be one of only16 species on the New Jersey State list that would be a lifer for me or something else? Since I had no out of state birding trips planned until March, I thought I should focus on a New Jersey species that I could possible find here during the winter, which cut the possiblities from 16 down to about 4. The heavy snows of late December and early January help me to decide that trekking into the woods after a Nemesis Bird would not be good idea, which narrowed my choices down to a coastal species, and of these there was only one possibility in the winter - Iceland Gull. However, my next birding opportunity (two weeks after Duluth) was with a birding couple that I had met in Panama. They were driving down from Connecticut one Friday morning and asked me to guide them to see some of Jersey Shore winter birds. However, since they had seen Iceland Gull before, it was not a target species for the trip.  If the weather conditions are right, Barnegat Light is one of the best locations on the East Coast to find certain species at close range like Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck and Purple Sandpipers. As my luck would have it, turned out that Friday afternoon had the perfect conditions, so we headed down to Barnegat Light for these species and whatever else we could find.  As I promised, all 3 of these species were very cooperative, providing them with great close looks. However as we started back towards the beach, I scanned a flock of gulls sitting on the beach, close to the jetty.  There among the flock of Herring Gulls was one slightly smaller white bird, a first year - Iceland Gull! My second Nemesis Bird in two weeks.  Oh if they all could be this easy!

Harlequin Ducks

Purple Sandpiper

Long-taild Duck

Iceland Gull