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Trail Guides
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Stone Harbor Point
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4
 
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2nd Avenue and 122nd Street, Stone Harbor, NJ
Phone: (609) 368-5102
www.stone-harbor.nj.us
Borough of Stone Harbor
Follow Ocean Drive over the Stone Harbor Bridge.
Turn at the first Right after the bridge. This puts you onto 3rd Ave. Take 3rd Ave. to the end and turn Left onto 122nd St. Turn Right onto 2nd Ave. and then turn Left into the parking lot. Map
Open daily from dawn to dusk. Beach tags required from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Call Borough of Stone Harbor for information. Visitors are asked not to walk near nesting enclosure areas for birds during spring and summer. There is a large parking lot on site; it is closed from 2:30 am to 5:30 am. Look for new educational signs and viewing platforms.
This is a sensitive site because of the beach nesting birds, so large areas may be roped off and inaccessible for periods of time in Spring and Summer.
Visit the Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary on your way to the next destination, It is located in the middle of the island between 2nd & 3rd Avenues and extending from 117th Street to 111th Street. For more information, visit www.stone-harbor,nj.us/bird-sanctuary/site/introduction.html.
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| Birder at the Point | Michael Lyncheski |
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| | In addition to having both ocean and inland waterway frontage, "The Point" has areas of dense seaside undergrowth, low grassy dunes, and wet, tidal marshlands. The ocean beach is a favorite with summer tourists while the sandy dunes, just a few hundred yards away, are summer nesting grounds for Piping Plover, Common Tern, Least Tern, Black Skimmer and American Oystercatcher. The marshy areas are home to various sparrows and Clapper Rail. This is a principal stopping off point for migrating shorebirds; virtually every shorebird species seen regularly in southern New Jersey can be seen here, depending upon time of year.
Don't let the cold stop you as winter songbirds like Snow Bunting may come for a visit. Brant and red-breasted Merganser also winter here. As Spring approaches, watch the emerging grasses trying to take hold in this "moveable" environment.
The Point hosts many beach nesting birds in spring, and is a critical site for migrating birds. The federally threatened Piping Plover, Black Skimmer and Least Tern nest here along with the American Oystercatcher. Shorebirds feed here during migration, including Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Piper and Red Knot. You may also see horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, Eastern cottontail rabbits and various toads.
Summer brings beach goes and beachcombers. The water is warm and minnows and crabs can be seen in the shallows. Anglers line the banks. The Point harbors one of the most active tern nesting colonies in the region with Common Tern and Black Skimmer raising and protecting their young.
New viewing platforms at the Point provide great locations from which to view shorebird and songbird migration in the fall. Songbirds stick to the shrubby area adjacent to the parking lot. Shorebirds utilize the mudflats leading to the inlet. After a cold front passes, huge flocks of Tree Swallows may be seen swirling down into the dense thickets, feeding on bayberries.
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