Horseshoe Island

The area that comprises both Little Egg and Brigantine Inlets in Atlantic County is one of the most dynamic ecosystems in New Jersey. It includes the only undeveloped and unmanaged inlets for over 100 miles. Little Egg Inlet intersects a critically important habitat located within the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge), managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which also holds a National Wilderness Area. 

The western side of this inlet is adjacent to the NJDEP Fish and Wildlife’s (NJFW) Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area, and the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve overlays this area. 

The barrier islands, marshes, and intertidal shoals in the region harbor numerous plants and animals of conservation concern including all Endangered Species Act-listed coastal-dependent species native to New Jersey: seabeach amaranth, piping plover, red knot, black rail, and roseate tern as well as numerous state endangered and threatened species (including black skimmer and least tern). 

While the dynamic nature of the Inlet has moved sand in the region and constantly changes the shorelines of Holgate and Little Beach Island, year-round use by migratory and nesting shorebirds has been constant. The need for human disturbance-free habitat increases each year as beaches along the Atlantic Coast experience heavy recreational use and are managed (via beach raking, among other actions) in a way that removes natural features and the food resources that birds require to survive.

 Aerial photograph of Horseshoe Island in June 2021,
looking northwest towards Little Beach Island

But sometimes the shifting sand creates rather than destroys an area. Over the last five years, sand that appears to have collected as a result of the natural southward longshore drift along Long Island Beach has been “coming and going” to form shoals just offshore of the Refuge’s Little Beach Island in the Atlantic Ocean. Natural processes have re-formed the site multiple times; however, in spring 2018, an emergent swash platform shoal formed and remained intact through all tide cycles. 

This new Horseshoe Island represents the furthest north Royal Tern colony in the Western Hemisphere. The island, which when it was formed was shaped like a horseshoe, is now incredibly important for many bird species

Aerial images and surveys by Stockton University Coastal Research Center suggest there was no nesting in 2018 or 2019, although migratory birds likely utilized the site for foraging and roosting. Nesting may have occurred in 2020, but the site was not surveyed by biologists to confirm that (due to the global COVID-19 pandemic). In May 2021, biologists confirmed that shorebirds and waterbirds were using the site for breeding activities. For the remainder of that season, staff from the NJFW’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program and the Refuge monitored the site each week until all nesting was complete in mid-September

More Information

dep.nj.gov/njfw/conservation/horseshoe-island

www.fws.gov (pdf)

Coastal Recovery

In a series of flyovers of the Jersey shoreline and coastal areas this summer, photos were taken by the Northeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Most of this surveying is still in response to the effects of Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.

The Northeast Region includes Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Delaware, and Virginia.

 Aerial Tour of Hurricane Sandy Recovery Sites: Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, NJ.

At Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, the salt marsh protects the homes of those who live on the shore, acting as a buffer zone for these communities.

This dike protects the refuge from being completely flooded. 

PHOTOS via www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsnortheast/ The Official Photostream for the Northeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Fish and Wildlife Service also maintains an online digital media library at www.fws.gov/digitalmedia

Shorebirds Make Their August Return to New Jersey

Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) by Dominic Sherony [CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Via the "Seen in New Jersey" column written by Pete Bacinski (New Jersey birder and retired NJ Audubon All Things Birds program director) comes the reminder that shorebirds are now returning from nesting grounds in the high Arctic to the Jersey shore.

Like many NJ people, these birds have found that the late summer and after Labor Day are very nice times to enjoy our state. People think of migrations as an autumn event, but in this case this part of August is the time for neotropic migrant passerines, or perching birds, to migrate and it is the peak of shorebird migration. Pete says that the second half of August has the highest shorebird diversity of the year.

This is a great time to see birds foraging in mudflats, sandy beaches, sod farms and grassy areas. A choice spot is the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge has 47,000 acres of marshland and forest and the Brigantine Division in Galloway is the place to be for shorebirds at this time of year.

Other locations worth checking:

• Barnegat Impoundments, in Barnegat Township, also part of Forsythe NWR
• TNC Meadows in Cape May
• Stone Harbor
• Island Beach State Park
• Sandy Hook (north end)
• New Jersey Meadowlands, around the DeKorte Environment Center
• Whitesbog cranberry bogs and mudflats (when drained)

Baird's sandpiper (shown at top) and the buff-breasted sandpiper, as well as the rare American golden plover love sod farms and grassy fields in places like Brigantine.These two sandpipers (AKA grasspipers) don't appear here in spring migration because they take a central flyway when they head north. Upland sandpipers, a New Jersey endangered species, is ending its migration through NJ now.

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New Jersey Audubon's All Things Birds will sponsor these birding field trips:

Aug. 23: Forsythe (Brigantine) National Wildlife Refuge
Aug. 30: Forsythe (Brigantine) National Wildlife Refuge
There is a fee for these events: $20 for members and $25 for nonmembers. For more information or to register, call the Scherman-Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuaries at (908) 766-5787.

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, where more than 43,000 acres of southern New Jersey coastal habitats are actively protected and managed for migratory birds.

Forsythe is one of more than 500 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is a network of lands and waters managed specifically for the protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat and represents the most comprehensive wildlife resource management program in the world.

It is located just 10 miles from the traffic and noise of Atlantic City’s casinos. But you can still escape to a quieter world of tidal salt meadows and marsh, shallow coves and bays, woodlands of oak, white cedar and pitch pine, and fields.

Holgate and Little Beach, two of the few remaining undeveloped barrier beaches in New Jersey, are among the 6,000 acres of the refuge designated as Wilderness. Its internationally recognized wetlands habitat is critical for the world’s black ducks and Atlantic brant.

The Refuge's headquarters is located at its Brigantine Division on the mainland, at Oceanville, New Jersey. Headquarters is open weekdays, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

What can you expect to see if you visit in September and October?

SEPTEMBER: Fall flowers bloom in the salt marsh. Along the Leeds Eco-trail, look for the red of glasswort, the dainty white fall flowers of salt marsh asters and the slender fan of sea lavender. Red "leaves of three" warn of poison ivy.

Visitors may see migrating hawks flying over the salt marsh and woods, searching for food. Remember to look sky ward from time to time so you don't miss them. Young animals are learning how and where to find food. Watch for them as you walk the trails and along the Wildlife Drive. Remember, feeding of wildlife is prohibited on the refuge.

Goldenrod is in full bloom. Monarch butterflies migrating through this area stop to sip its nectar, to fuel the next stretch of their long journey to Mexican wintering grounds. Look for the beautiful blue flowers of Pine Barrens Gentian, in moist sandy barrens habitats.

Look for ducks stopping to rest and feed in Refuge wetlands as they migrate south. Many are traveling to their wintering grounds in Central and South America.

Morning dew accentuates spider webs. Look for different kinds of webs as you walk the trails.

OCTOBER: Observe the trees and shrubs in this season as glorious fall colors start to appear. Fewer shorebirds are seen in refuge impoundments. More species of ducks can be seen resting and feeding in refuge waters. Look for diving ducks in salt water areas.

Watch for deer early in the morning or near dusk feeding on islands in the impoundments.
Persimmon trees bear ripening fruit, a sweet treat for wildlife. Look for them among the other trees as you walk the Leed’s Eco Trail.

Atlantic Brant geese arrive to spend the winter here. Look for large flocks resting inside the impoundments and flying over or feeding in surrounding bay waters. Listen for their soft voices as they communicate with each other. Some songbirds are still migrating south. Others are now settling in to spend the winter months. Look and listen for White-throated sparrows and Juncos among others.

Are your feeders clean and filled? The feeders at the headquarters building go up during National Wildlife Refuge Week. Stop by the headquarters buildings to get a peek at the wide variety of birds (and squirrels!) that stop by to feed throughout the fall and winter. If you come Monday through Friday during the day, you can get a view from the windows in the auditorium.
Vines, shrubs and trees now bear fruit and seeds for wintering wildlife. See how many different kinds of wildlife food you can identify as you walk along the refuge trails.

Look for Snow Geese arriving from the far north. Many rest in the impoundments while others will be feeding in the salt marsh.

Wildlife Drive and trails are open seven days a week from sunrise to sunset. At various times during the year, Wildlife Drive and trails may be closed to the public to carry out wildlife management plans. Organized groups are requested to contact the refuge to register their visits in advance.

The Refuge receives over 200,000 visitors each year. Cumulative impacts of this many visits on wildlife and habitat can be great, so adherence to Refuge guidelines and regulations is important.

Most of the Refuge's public use facilities are open only during daylight hours (sunrise to sunset).

Pets must be on a short, handheld leash and are prohibited at Holgate and at Graveling Point.

The refuge's location in one of the Atlantic Flyway's most active flight paths makes it an important link in the vast network of national wildlife refuge.

If you want to know which bird species have been seen recently along the Wildlife Drive, the website uses eBird to track the weekly bird observations made by Atlantic Audubon, refuge volunteers, and visiting birders who enter their observation data so that you can see online up-to-date bird sightings. See the Flickr photo group for thousands of photos taken at the Refuge.


At Forsythe (and many USFWS sites), kids can explore nature and when they the refuge headquarters or the Friend’s Nature Store, they can pick up a Junior Refuge Manager Activity Guide. (Ages 4-7—Dragonfly Edition, Ages 8+—Osprey Edition). By completing 6 activities, they can become a JUNIOR REFUGE MANAGER.

Volunteers are essential to so many environmental efforts. the life blood in helping the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge fulfill its mission of conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats as well as providing educational and recreational opportunities for the public.

Volunteer Newsletter Spring 2009 (pdf)

• Website http://forsythe.fws.gov
• Refuge brochure
• Directions
• Refuge weather report
• Guided activities for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts (pdf)
• Guided activities for all ages of Girl Scouts (pdf)