The Jodrey State Fish Pier at Gloucester Harbor is one of my favorite places to bird in winter.  Visiting the pier each of the last three winters before, during, and after the Superbowl of Birding has been a great pleasure and the views I have had of a variety of species have been breathtaking.  If you are willing to brave the cold you are almost guaranteed at least five species of gull, including two white-winged species, great looks at Common Loons, Common Eider, and Red-breasted Merganser, and, perhaps, if you are fortunate, something really cool like an alcid or something completely amazing, like an Ivory Gull.  It really is a great place to see great birds and everyone from a raw beginner just learning to identify seaducks to an expert looking through the hordes of gulls for a rarity will find something to keep them occupied and entertained.

But you don’t have to take my word for it.  Just take a look at a few of  my favorite images that I managed to get on Sunday morning…

Common Loon Gavia immer

Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator

Thick-billed Murre Uria lomvia

Common Eider Somateria mollissima

Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator

Common Loon Gavia immer

Common Eider Somateria mollissima

Thick-billed Murre Uria lomvia


Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides

Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator

Common Eider Somateria mollissima

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.