Shore Birds

There are numerouse species in this category from very small (Least Sandpiper) to seriously large (Marbled Godwit). Many of them are readily viewable all up and down the Jersey Shore and along the edge of New York Bay. Many are migrants, passing through in the spring and fall. Others are here year-round. Following Sibley, I’ve arranged them by genus. 

Plovers—Genera: Pluvialis and Charadrius

Sibley lists nine species in these two genera, but I’ve only seen seven of them in New Jersey. Excluded are  the Snowy Plover and Mountain Plover neither of which has ever been recorded in New Jersey.

Larger Shore Birds—Genera: Haematopus, Himantopus, Recurvirastra, Tringa, Actitus, Bartramia, Numenius, Limosa, Arenaria

This is a diverse, perhaps somewhat arbitrary, grouping of generally larger shore birds.

Sandpipers—Genus: Calidris

Not all members of this genus visit New Jersey regularly, and some that do I have yet to photograph, but this is nonetheless a large group of interesting birds.