Walk with Ruddy Turnstones

Did one of our favorite walks yesterday at Island Beach State Park, a 10-mile long, narrow, undeveloped barrier island off the NJ coast.  The last mile is just ocean, white sand, and sand dunes.  It ends at Barnagat Inlet, where there is a jetty made of massive boulders. (Long Beach Island is just across the Inlet that connects Barnaget Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.) Linda sat on a rock to watch for brown pelicans. I headed out on the jetty. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something move down below in the boulders. I quietly waited.  A bird’s head popped up, then the rest of it– a Ruddy Turnstones with its bright orange feet! Then another one appeared.  They walked & ate their way up to where I was, unfazed by my presence.  Linda saw three brown pelicans  that we spotted again on our way back.  Very cool encounters!

#IslandBeachStatePark #JerseyShore #RuddyTurnstones