Atlantic Brants in the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Elisabeth Condon.

I spent last weekend birding the coastline of New Jersey. My partner in crime was Seth Cutright, a hawk counter at Sandy Hook Bird Observatory, just across the pond from New York City. After a hectic morning in which the air was alive with American kestrels and Northern harriers, the slowness of the afternoon prompted Seth’s generous supervisor to give him the rest of the day off. Seth and I did not waste a minute — off to Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (a.k.a. Brigantine, or simply Brig, to locals) we went. Read more