Loads of toursits visit the Statue of Liberty when they come to New York City for the first time. Few of them realize that Liberty State Park, located smack-dab on the Hudson River amidst the crush of humanity in Jersey City, is a local birding hotspot. With a mix of large open fields, marshland, a pine grove, weedy margins and mudflats when the tide goes out, it offers up a plethora (I love that word) of birding habitats. It is especially good in winter. There is a Snowy Owl there most years, living large on the rats. There are also lots of different types of ducks, gulls and shorebirds.
I went down to the park with friends today to try for the Snowy. It has been hanging around the golf course and waterfront. I was also hoping to see the Eurasian Widgeon, immat. male Common Eider and 7 Woodcock that had been reported. But I skunked on all of them. I did see Green-winged Teal, loads of Brant, 2 Killdeer, 2 Horned Grebe, lots of Buffleheads, DC Cormorants, Ruddy Ducks, Gadwalls, Black Ducks and the regular seagulls crowd-Herring, Greater Black-backed and Ring-billed.
Now that I know the lay of the land, so to speak, I plan on going back when it is a nicer and hopefully less windy day. I wonder when Snowy Owls leave to go back north???
Stumble It!
Behind the Bins 
A fine day it was! Good friends and birds; how can you go wrong!
What about the Red-necked grebe?
When visiting our daughter in NYC we stay at Liberty Harbor Rv park and Marina…we can see the statue of liberty. We will be visiting her again the last week of may …is that a good time for birding there?
NJ has awesome birds in May, migration is in full swing and the weather is good. Let me know when you get in, I’d love to bird with you, show you some of my haunts.
Excellent…Will give you shout when we get to the city..