34 Winter Birds in New Jersey

New Jersey gets a lot of grief in winter (the wind off the bay, the parking, the fact that I still can't merge onto the Parkway without a small prayer), but the birds clearly didn't read the reviews. The winter birds of New Jersey are some of the best on the East Coast, thanks to a long shoreline, huge salt marshes, and a steady stream of visitors from Canada and the Arctic.

Even the state bird stays for the season. The Eastern Goldfinch, better known as the American Goldfinch, has been New Jersey's official state bird since 1935, and it spends the winter here in a dull olive coat that makes it easy to overlook. Below are 34 species, each with ID tips, calls, where to find them in the state, and what they'll eat if you put out the right seed.

Types of Winter Birds in New Jersey

There are 3 types of winter birds in New Jersey you'll see on the list:

Irruptive Species – birds that move outside their normal winter range in large, unpredictable numbers, usually when seed or prey crops fail up north
Resident New Jersey Birds – found year-round, and many of them visit feeders
Winter Migrants / Visitors – birds that come to New Jersey for the winter from farther north. The coast is where most of them land, especially at places like Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge near Atlantic City

Each entry covers ID, male vs female, calls, where to find the bird in New Jersey, and its feeder favorites if it visits feeders. If you're wondering where all the summer birds went, here's where birds go in the winter.

1. Northern Cardinal

Family – Cardinalidae
Species – Cardinalis cardinalis
Primary Activity Time – Dawn and Dusk
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Northern Cardinal is the most reliable bird at a New Jersey feeder in winter. In Project FeederWatch's Mid-Atlantic rankings it tops the list, reported at 98% of participating feeders. It eats seeds, fruit, and the odd insect, and it likes to feed early and late in the day, often low in shrubs or on a platform.

Males are bright red with a black mask and crest. Females are warm tan with red edging on the wings, tail, and crest, plus the same thick orange-red bill.

The Northern Cardinal song is a loud, whistled cheer-cheer-cheer or birdie-birdie-birdie, and the call is a sharp metallic chip. Both males and females sing.

Cardinals live statewide in New Jersey, from Sussex County backyards to Cape May thickets, wherever there's dense cover near food. For more on keeping them around, see our guide to cardinals in winter.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, safflower, cracked corn

2. Carolina Chickadee

Family – Paridae
Species – Poecile carolinensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Carolina Chickadee is the chickadee most of New Jersey actually has. It's a tiny, fearless omnivore that grabs one seed at a time, flies off to eat or hide it, and comes right back, which is also how I handle a cheese board.

It has a black cap and bib, white cheeks, and a gray back. Males and females look alike.

The Carolina Chickadee call is a fast, high chick-a-dee-dee-dee, and its whistled song usually has four notes, fee-bee-fee-bay.

Carolina Chickadees cover central and southern New Jersey. In the northern counties they meet Black-capped Chickadees in a wide hybrid zone, so a chickadee in Hunterdon County might be either one (or a bit of both).

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, suet, shelled peanuts

3. Black-capped Chickadee

Family – Paridae
Species – Poecile atricapillus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird (northern New Jersey)

The Black-capped Chickadee is the northern cousin, and in New Jersey it's mostly a bird of the hilly northwest. It eats seeds, suet, and dormant insects and hides food in bark crevices to find later.

It looks almost identical to the Carolina Chickadee, with a slightly messier bib and brighter white edges on the wing feathers. Males and females look alike.

The Black-capped Chickadee song is the easiest tell: a clear, two-note fee-bee. Its chick-a-dee-dee-dee call is slower and lower than the Carolina's.

Look for Black-capped Chickadees in the Highlands and the Kittatinny Ridge, especially in Sussex, Warren, Passaic, and Morris counties.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, suet, peanuts

4. Tufted Titmouse

Family – Paridae
Species – Baeolophus bicolor
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Tufted Titmouse is a small gray songbird that travels with chickadees in winter, taking seeds, nuts, and insects. Like chickadees, it takes one seed at a time and often hides it for later.

It's soft gray above and pale below, with peachy flanks, big black eyes, and a pointed crest. Males and females look the same.

The Tufted Titmouse song is a loud, whistled peter-peter-peter, and on mild February mornings it's one of the first songs you'll hear in a New Jersey neighborhood.

Titmice live statewide in deciduous woods, parks, and leafy suburbs.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, peanuts, suet

5. Mourning Dove

Family – Columbidae
Species – Zenaida macroura
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Mourning Dove is a ground-feeding seed eater that fills its crop as fast as it can, then sits on a wire to digest, which is roughly my approach to a holiday buffet.

It's a slim gray-brown bird with black spots on the wings and a long, pointed tail. Males have a faint rosy breast and a bluish crown, while females are a little browner overall.

The Mourning Dove call is a soft, low coo-OO-oo-oo-oo that people often mistake for an owl. Their wings also whistle when they take off.

Mourning Doves are common statewide in New Jersey, gathering in flocks in farm country and suburbs.

Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn, black oil sunflower on the ground or a platform

6. Dark-eyed Junco

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Junco hyemalis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Dark-eyed Junco is the classic "snowbird," arriving in New Jersey from northern forests in fall and leaving in spring. Juncos hop around on the ground in small flocks, picking up seeds the messier birds drop.

New Jersey's juncos are the "slate-colored" type: gray above, white belly, and a pale pink bill. Males are a darker, crisper slate, while females are softer gray with a brownish wash. Both flash white outer tail feathers when they fly.

The Dark-eyed Junco call is a sharp tick or smack, and the song is a quick, musical trill.

Juncos winter statewide in yards, woodland edges, and brushy fields.

Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn, sunflower chips scattered on the ground

7. White-throated Sparrow

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Zonotrichia albicollis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The White-throated Sparrow is one of the most common winter sparrows in New Jersey, and it ranks in the top 12 at Mid-Atlantic FeederWatch sites. It scratches through leaf litter with both feet for seeds, usually close to thick cover.

Look for a crisp white throat, a yellow spot between the eye and bill, and a striped head. The stripes come in two forms, white-striped and tan-striped, and that difference shows up in both males and females, so it won't help you sex the bird.

The White-throated Sparrow song is a clear whistled Oh-sweet-Canada-Canada-Canada, and the call is a sharp chink or a thin seet.

You'll find them statewide in brushy edges, hedgerows, and yards with shrubs or brush piles.

Feeder favorites: millet, sunflower chips, cracked corn on the ground

8. House Finch

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Haemorhous mexicanus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The House Finch is a social seed eater that turns up at tube feeders in noisy little gangs. It's originally a bird of the western U.S., and the eastern population started with birds released on Long Island in the 1940s, so it's a New York transplant, like a lot of us.

Males have a rosy red head and breast (sometimes more orange or yellow, depending on diet), while females are plain brown with blurry streaks and no strong face pattern.

The House Finch song is a long, warbling jumble that often ends on a buzzy note, and the call is a chirpy cheep.

House Finches are common in towns and suburbs across New Jersey.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, nyjer

9. Blue Jay

Family – Corvidae
Species – Cyanocitta cristata
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Blue Jay is a loud, clever corvid that eats acorns, seeds, and insects and stores thousands of nuts in the ground each fall. Some jays migrate along the coast in fall while others stay, so numbers in New Jersey shift from year to year.

Blue Jays are bright blue above with a black necklace, white underparts, and a crest. Males and females look alike, though males average slightly larger.

The Blue Jay call is a harsh jay-jay, plus a squeaky gate sound and a convincing Red-shouldered Hawk impression.

They're found statewide in woods, parks, and neighborhoods with oaks.

Feeder favorites: shelled peanuts, black oil sunflower, suet

10. Downy Woodpecker

Family – Picidae
Species – Dryobates pubescens
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Downy Woodpecker is New Jersey's smallest woodpecker and a regular at suet feeders. It works small branches and even weed stalks for insect larvae, which bigger woodpeckers can't reach.

It's black and white with a white back stripe and a short, stubby bill. Males have a small red patch on the back of the head, while females don't.

The Downy Woodpecker call is a soft pik, and it also gives a descending whinny that sounds like a tiny horse.

Downies live statewide in woods, parks, and suburbs.

Feeder favorites: suet, black oil sunflower, peanuts

11. Hairy Woodpecker

Family – Picidae
Species – Dryobates villosus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Hairy Woodpecker is the Downy Woodpecker's bigger look-alike, and it shows up at feeders less often. It digs beetle larvae out of bark and comes in for suet in winter.

The best way to tell it apart is the bill, which is nearly as long as the head (the Downy's is about a third as long). Males have a red patch on the back of the head, while females don't.

The Hairy Woodpecker call is a loud, sharp peek, and its rattle is a fast, even run of notes.

Hairy Woodpeckers are found statewide but prefer mature woods, so they're easier to find in the Pine Barrens and northern forests than in a new subdivision.

Feeder favorites: suet, black oil sunflower, peanuts

12. Red-bellied Woodpecker

Family – Picidae
Species – Melanerpes carolinus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Red-bellied Woodpecker has one of the most misleading names in birding. The red belly is a faint pinkish wash you'll rarely see. It eats insects, nuts, acorns, and fruit and readily visits suet and peanut feeders.

It has a zebra-barred back and a pale face. Males have red from the bill all the way to the nape, while females have red only on the nape, with a gray crown.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker call is a rolling kwirr or churr that carries a long way through bare winter woods.

They're common statewide in New Jersey, in woodlands and wooded suburbs.

Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts, black oil sunflower

13. White-breasted Nuthatch

Family – Sittidae
Species – Sitta carolinensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The White-breasted Nuthatch spends its day climbing headfirst down tree trunks, finding insects and cached seeds that upward-climbing woodpeckers miss. It wedges seeds into bark and hacks them open.

It's blue-gray above with a white face and breast and a rusty wash under the tail. Males have a glossy black cap, while females usually show a grayer cap.

The White-breasted Nuthatch call is a nasal yank-yank, often given in a series.

Look for them statewide in deciduous woods, parks, and yards with mature trees, often in mixed flocks with chickadees and titmice.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, peanuts, suet

14. Carolina Wren

Family – Troglodytidae
Species – Thryothorus ludovicianus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Carolina Wren is a small, round, rusty bird with a voice far bigger than its body. It eats mostly insects and spiders, poking into brush piles, woodpiles, and garages (yes, garages).

It's warm brown above and buffy below, with a long white eyebrow stripe and a tail it often cocks up. Males and females look alike.

The Carolina Wren song is a loud, rolling teakettle-teakettle-teakettle, and pairs sing and call to each other all winter.

Carolina Wrens live statewide in New Jersey, though very cold, snowy winters can knock their numbers down, especially in the north.

Feeder favorites: suet, mealworms, peanut pieces

15. American Goldfinch

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Spinus tristis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
New Jersey State Bird (resident)

The American Goldfinch is New Jersey's state bird, officially listed as the Eastern Goldfinch. It eats almost nothing but seeds, which is why it's such a regular at tube feeders in winter.

In winter the males trade their lemon yellow for a dull olive-brown coat with a yellowish face and black wings with white bars. Females are grayer and duller, with less contrast in the wings. Both have a small, pale, cone-shaped bill.

The American Goldfinch call is a bouncy po-ta-to-chip given in flight, as they dip up and down like they're on an invisible roller coaster.

Goldfinches winter statewide in weedy fields, woodland edges, and backyards with feeders.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips, black oil sunflower

16. American Robin

Family – Turdidae
Species – Turdus migratorius
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird / Winter Migrant

The American Robin never really leaves New Jersey. It just stops pulling worms out of lawns and starts traveling in flocks to eat berries, so people assume it's gone. Some robins from farther north also winter here.

Robins have a gray-brown back and an orange breast. Females are usually paler, with a grayer head, while males have a darker head and richer breast.

In winter you'll mostly hear the American Robin call, a low tut-tut or a sharp peek, instead of the cheery spring song.

Look for winter robins statewide in fruiting trees, holly, cedar, and wet woods, and in big flocks along the coast.

Feeder favorites: chopped fruit, softened raisins, mealworms

17. Northern Mockingbird

Family – Mimidae
Species – Mimus polyglottos
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Northern Mockingbird spends winter guarding a fruit tree like it's the last parking spot at the Garden State Plaza on December 23rd. Each bird defends its own patch of berries and chases off anyone who comes near.

It's gray above and paler below, with a long tail and big white wing patches that flash in flight. Males and females look alike.

The Northern Mockingbird song is a long string of copied phrases, each repeated a few times before switching. In winter you'll mostly hear a harsh chack call.

Mockingbirds are common across New Jersey, especially in the suburbs, along the shore, and anywhere with fruiting shrubs.

Feeder favorites: chopped fruit, suet, mealworms

18. Yellow-rumped Warbler

Family – Parulidae
Species – Setophaga coronata
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor (mostly coastal)

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is the one warbler that can tough out a New Jersey winter, because it can digest the waxy berries of bayberry and wax myrtle. That makes it common along the coast when every other warbler is in Central America.

In winter, both sexes are streaky brown with a bright yellow rump patch and a little yellow on the sides. Females are duller and browner than males.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler call is a flat check that you'll hear constantly in coastal thickets.

Look for them at the shore, from Sandy Hook to Cape May, in bayberry and cedar thickets. They're scarcer inland in winter.

Feeder favorites: suet, peanut pieces

19. Red-breasted Nuthatch

Family – Sittidae
Species – Sitta canadensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Irruptive Species

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a tiny, busy nuthatch that eats conifer seeds and insects. In New Jersey it's a winter visitor that shows up in big numbers some years and is hard to find in others, depending on cone crops up north.

It has a black cap, a white eyebrow, a black eye stripe, and a rusty breast. Females have a grayer cap and paler underparts than males.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch call is a nasal yank-yank that sounds like a toy trumpet, higher and tinnier than the White-breasted's.

Look for them in pines, spruces, and cedars statewide, including the Pine Barrens, and at feeders near conifers.

Feeder favorites: suet, shelled peanuts, black oil sunflower

20. Pine Siskin

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Spinus pinus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Irruptive Species

The Pine Siskin is a small, streaky finch that wanders south in flocks when northern seed crops fail. Some winters New Jersey feeders are crawling with them, and some winters you won't see one.

It's brown and heavily streaked, with a thin, pointed bill and flashes of yellow in the wings and tail. Males tend to show more yellow than females.

The Pine Siskin call is a rising, buzzy zreeee, like someone slowly unzipping a jacket.

In irruption years, they turn up statewide in conifers, birches, and at feeders.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips

21. Purple Finch

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Haemorhous purpureus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Irruptive Species (uncommon most winters)

The Purple Finch is the bird everyone mistakes for a House Finch, and it's an uncommon, irregular winter visitor to New Jersey. Numbers jump in flight years, when northern seed crops fail.

Males look like they were dipped in raspberry juice, with color across the head, back, and breast. Females are brown and streaky, with a bold white eyebrow and a dark cheek patch, which is the quickest way to tell them from female House Finches.

The Purple Finch call is a sharp pik or tuk, and the song is a fast, rich warble.

Look for them in mixed woods and at feeders, mostly in the north and in good flight years.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips

22. Redpoll

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Acanthis flammea
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Irruptive Species (rare most winters)

You might know it as the Common Redpoll or Hoary Redpoll, but in 2024 the American Ornithological Society lumped them into one species: the Redpoll. In New Jersey it's rare in most winters and shows up mainly in irruption years, often later in the season.

It's a small, streaky finch with a red cap and a black chin. Males have a rosy wash on the breast, while females are streakier and lack the pink.

The Redpoll call is a dry, rattling chit-chit-chit and a buzzy, rising zweee.

When they do come, look in the northern counties at birches and feeders, and occasionally along the coast.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips

23. Cooper's Hawk

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Astur cooperii
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Cooper's Hawk is the hawk most likely to visit your feeder, though not for the seed. It hunts songbirds and doves by darting through yards and shrubs at high speed.

Adults are blue-gray above with fine orange barring below and a long, rounded tail. Females are noticeably bigger than males, and young birds are brown with streaky breasts.

The Cooper's Hawk call is a loud cak-cak-cak, but it's usually silent outside the breeding season.

Cooper's Hawks are found statewide, and suburban yards with feeders are some of their favorite hunting grounds. If the feeders suddenly go quiet, look up.

24. Red-tailed Hawk

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Buteo jamaicensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Red-tailed Hawk is the big hawk you'll see perched on light poles along the Turnpike, watching the grass for voles. It hunts mostly small mammals from a high perch.

Adults have a rusty-red tail, a pale chest, and a dark band of streaks across the belly. Males and females look alike, but females are larger.

The Red-tailed Hawk call is a raspy, screaming keee-eeer. It's the sound movies use for eagles, which is a little unfair to the eagle.

Red-tails are common statewide in farm country, along highways, and in open suburbs.

25. Northern Harrier

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Circus hudsonius
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor and Resident

The Northern Harrier glides low over marshes and fields, tilting side to side, listening for voles. It has an owl-like face disk that helps it hunt by sound.

Adult males are pale gray with black wingtips, earning the nickname "gray ghost." Females and young birds are brown. Both show a bright white patch at the base of the tail.

Northern Harriers are mostly silent in winter.

They're most common in New Jersey's coastal salt marshes and open fields, including the marshes at Forsythe and along the Delaware Bayshore. Late afternoon is a good time to watch for them.

26. Bald Eagle

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird / Winter Migrant

The Bald Eagle has made a big comeback in New Jersey, and winter is a great time to see one. Resident pairs start nesting early, and more eagles arrive from the north to fish open water.

Adults have a dark brown body, white head and tail, and a heavy yellow bill. Young eagles are mottled brown and white and take about five years to get the full look. Females are larger than males.

The Bald Eagle call is a weak, high-pitched chatter, surprisingly squeaky for such a big bird.

Look for them along the Delaware River, at reservoirs, and around coastal refuges. The refuge lists Bald Eagles among the winter birds at Forsythe.

27. Great Horned Owl

Family – Strigidae
Species – Bubo virginianus
Primary Activity Time – Night
Nocturnal
Resident New Jersey Bird

The Great Horned Owl is New Jersey's most widespread owl, and it starts nesting in winter, with courtship and nesting getting going in December. It hunts everything from rabbits to skunks.

It's a big, bulky owl with ear tufts, yellow eyes, and a white throat patch. Males and females look alike, but females are larger, and males have a deeper voice.

The Great Horned Owl call is a deep, soft hoo-h'HOO-hoo-hoo, and pairs often duet on winter evenings.

The New Jersey Conservation Foundation notes they live everywhere in the state, cities and suburbs included.

28. Short-eared Owl

Family – Strigidae
Species – Asio flammeus
Primary Activity Time – Dawn and Dusk
Crepuscular
Winter Migrant / Visitor (endangered in New Jersey)

The Short-eared Owl is a winter visitor that hunts open marshes and meadows, flying low and floppy like a giant moth. It's listed as endangered in New Jersey because so much of its marsh and grassland habitat has been lost.

It's tawny and streaked, with dark patches around yellow eyes and tiny ear tufts you'll rarely see. Females tend to be darker and more richly buff than males.

Short-eared Owls are mostly quiet in winter, though they sometimes give a raspy bark.

Look for them hunting at sunset over coastal marshes and big fields, including Forsythe, which lists them among its winter birds. Watch from roads and trails, and give them plenty of space.

29. Snowy Owl

Family – Strigidae
Species – Bubo scandiacus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime and Dusk
Diurnal
Irruptive Species

The Snowy Owl is the bird every New Jersey birder hopes for in winter. It comes south from the Arctic, and some years bring a real invasion. Unlike most owls, it hunts in daylight.

Adult males can be nearly pure white, while females and young birds have heavier dark barring. Females are larger.

Snowy Owls are usually silent in winter.

Look on beaches and dunes, at places like Island Beach State Park, Sandy Hook, and Liberty State Park, and inland at Merrill Creek Reservoir. New Jersey Audubon's Snowy Owl tracking work started with owls tagged at Island Beach. If a crowd is closing in on a resting owl, back off. These birds are burning energy just to survive the trip, and no photo is worth flushing one.

30. American Black Duck

Family – Anatidae
Species – Anas rubripes
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New Jersey Bird / Winter Migrant

The American Black Duck is a big deal in New Jersey. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, about 45% of the American Black Duck population winters in the state, and "hundreds and often thousands" spend the winter at Forsythe.

It looks like a very dark female Mallard, with a paler head and a violet wing patch without white edges. Males have a yellow bill, while females have a duller, olive-green bill.

Its call is a classic duck quack, and the females are the loud ones.

Look for them in salt marshes and back bays along the coast, especially on the Forsythe Wildlife Drive.

31. Brant

Family – Anatidae
Species – Branta bernicla
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Brant is a small, dark sea goose, and New Jersey is its winter headquarters. The refuge says about 57% of the Atlantic Brant population winters in the state. They eat eelgrass and sea lettuce in the bays, and they'll graze on coastal lawns and ball fields too.

Brant have a black head, neck, and chest, a white necklace, and a brown back. Males and females look alike.

The Brant call is a low, rolling cronk, and a big flock sounds like a crowd grumbling in a waiting room.

Look for them in back bays and along the shore from Sandy Hook to Cape May, with big numbers at Forsythe.

32. Bufflehead

Family – Anatidae
Species – Bucephala albeola
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Bufflehead is a tiny diving duck that pops underwater for small invertebrates and bobs back up like a cork. It's one of the most common winter ducks on New Jersey's bays.

Males are bright white with a dark back and a big white patch on a dark, glossy head. Females are gray-brown with a small white oval on the cheek.

Buffleheads are mostly quiet in winter.

Look for them in back bays, inlets, and reservoirs statewide. Forsythe lists them among its winter birds.

33. Long-tailed Duck

Family – Anatidae
Species – Clangula hyemalis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Long-tailed Duck is a sea duck from the Arctic and one of the deepest-diving ducks in the world. It winters in the ocean off New Jersey and dives for shellfish and other invertebrates.

Winter males are mostly white with dark patches, a pink band on the bill, and long, pointy tail feathers. Females are browner, with a white face and no long tail.

The Long-tailed Duck call is a loud, yodeling ow-owdle-ow from the males that carries over the water.

Look for them off jetties and inlets along the shore. New Jersey Audubon's Barnegat Lighthouse site guide lists them with Common Eiders and all three scoters.

34. Harlequin Duck

Family – Anatidae
Species – Histrionicus histrionicus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor (rare, Barnegat Light)

The Harlequin Duck is a small sea duck that loves rough, rocky water, which New Jersey mostly doesn't have. That's why it's a rare winter bird here, with one famous exception: the Barnegat Lighthouse jetty, the only place in the state with wintering Harlequins, often up to 30 birds.

Males are slate blue with chestnut sides and bold white stripes and spots. Females are dark brown with a white patch in front of the eye and a small white spot behind it.

The Harlequin Duck call is a high, mouse-like squeak, which is why one of its nicknames is "sea mouse."

Look for them along the rocks of the jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, often with Purple Sandpipers. You don't need to buy a spotting scope for this one. Walk the jetty with binoculars, or borrow a scope on a group walk.

New Jersey Winter Birds FAQ

What birds stay in New Jersey during the winter?

Year-round residents like the Northern Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, woodpeckers, and White-breasted Nuthatch stay put. They're joined by winter visitors such as Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Brant, and sea ducks, plus irruptive finches in some years. To the north, here's what to expect for winter birds in New York.

What are the most common birds of New Jersey at winter feeders?

In Project FeederWatch's Mid-Atlantic top 20, the top 10 are Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, Dark-eyed Junco, chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, Blue Jay, Downy Woodpecker, American Goldfinch, and Red-bellied Woodpecker. Black oil sunflower and suet will bring in most of them.

Does the Eastern Goldfinch stay in New Jersey in winter?

Yes. The state bird lives here year-round, but males trade their bright yellow for dull olive-brown in winter, so a lot of people don't recognize them at the feeder.

Where are the best places to see NJ winter birds?

Barnegat Lighthouse State Park for Harlequin Ducks and Long-tailed Ducks, Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge for Brant, Black Ducks, and raptors, and Cape May for scoters, eiders, and grebes. Island Beach State Park and Sandy Hook are worth checking for Snowy Owls. Heading west? Here's our list of winter birds in Pennsylvania.

What should I feed birds in New Jersey in winter?

New Jersey Audubon recommends black oil sunflower for nuthatches and finches, shelled peanuts for Blue Jays, nyjer for goldfinches and siskins, and suet for woodpeckers and chickadees. Skip bread entirely, since it has almost no nutrition for birds.

Are there Snowy Owls in New Jersey?

Yes, in many winters, though numbers vary a lot. They show up on beaches, dunes, and open areas along the shore, and occasionally inland at big reservoirs.

Spotted Any Winter Birds of New Jersey Lately?

Share what's showing up at your feeder or on your local jetty on the Sparkbird App, and find other birders near you to go looking with.

And if you drive all the way to Barnegat Light and the Harlequins don't show, at least you'll get a jetty walk and a good story. That's more than you can say for most trips down the Parkway.