Ocean Drive, Longport, NJ
Phone: (856) 629-0090
www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/wmas.htm
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
From the Absecon Creek overlook, continue straight along Leeds Avenue for 0.2 miles, and turn Right onto Main Street. Turn Right at the first traffic light onto Delilah Road. After 0.5 miles, turn Left onto Route 9 South/New Road. After 6.7 miles, turn Left at the traffic light onto Bethel Road. After 0.5 miles, turn Left onto Maryland Avenue which will become Longport Boulevard/Route 152. After 2.3 miles, turn Right onto Ocean city-Longport Boulevard, toward Ocean City. The parking area for Malibu Beach WMA is 0.5 miles on the Right. DIRECTIONS FROM NEAREST HIGHWAY: From the intersection of Route 9 and Route 52 in Somers Point, Continue onto MacArthur Boulevard for 0.6 miles. At the traffic circle, take the 3rd exit onto Shore Drive. After 1 mile, turn Right at East Maryland Avenue. After 0.4 miles, continue onto Longport Boulevard Bridge/NJ 152-East. After 2 miles, turn Right at Ocean Drive. The parking area for Malibu Beach WMA is 0.5 miles on the Right. Map
| | : Malibu Beach WMA is a small but beautiful piece of undeveloped beach providing valuable nesting habitat for several threatened and endangered birds. Black Skimmers, Least Terns and Common Terns nest on this beach in summer. Furthermore, this 95.7-acre site hosts a large variety of migrant and breeding shorebirds, herons and ducks throughout the year.
A magnificent colony of Black Skimmers is usually here in late summer and early fall. The group can number in the thousands at its peak.
A trip here in the winter provides an array of ducks, occasional shorebirds and gulls. The most reliable ducks to see in the winter are Brant, Bufflehead and American Black Ducks, although keep an eye out for Hooded Mergansers. Sanderling and Dunlin frequent the beaches here in the winter and periodically American Oystercatchers can be seen as well.
Springtime brings a multitude of birds to the WMA, especially herons and shorebirds. Great Blue, Little Blue and Tri-colored Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets. Sandpipers including Western, Least and Semipalmated, Red Knots, Ruddy Turnstones and Short-billed Dowitchers feed along the tideline. Listen for the calls of Seaside Sparrow and Marsh Wren.
In the summer, be respectful of the sensitive birds that nest on the beach, which include Least Terns, Common Terns and Black Skimmers. Willets and Glossy Ibis can be seen foraging, often in the marsh across from the beach. Common Yellowthroats are regulars in the low growth that runs along the WMA. Insect repellant can be a necessity here during calm winds and land breezes.
Marbled Godwit and Royal Tern are two fall specialties to watch for. Insect repellant still recommended.
A large fishing pier extends South along the Ocean Drive Bridge from the parking area at Malibu Beach. Summer flounder, bluefish, black sea bass and striped bass are among the prizes sought by anglers in season. A pavilion and benches make the pier a welcoming place to scan for shorebirds, diving ducks and wading birds. Keep an eye out for Peregrine Falcon and Brown Pelican spring through fall.
|