Took this shot from our boat as we were headed offshore in Belmar, NJ. It is a presumed Brant x Snow Goose hybrid. Very cool looking bird, so I thought I'd share.
Paul, I think the people who originally determined its probably parentage decided that "Bro Goose" sounded much better than "Snant". :w
We have two trips going out this weekend, but none on the 29-30 weekend. Our next trips are Feb. 5 (the DE Dovekie trip) and Feb. 13 (an 8 hour trip out of Freeport, NY). This and the Gannet I posted were taken from a fishing trip where we did very well, though photo opportunities are more limited since the boat doesn't stop or chum for birds.
If you want to get offshore, it's a good year. We just set the NJ state record for Common Murre, only to have a group out of Cape May break it a few days later. Both group also found Thick-billed Murre. Plenty of Razorbills, Gannets, and Kittiwakes around too.