Photogenic winter critters at the Jersey Shore

It’s a tale of two seasons.

The Jersey Shore comes alive during the summer, when the smell of funnel cakes and sausage and peppers waft down boardwalks, and beaches are packed with young and old enjoying warm days.

But during winter, many of the communities that dot the 130 miles of coastline switch into a slower pace of life, with blinking traffic lights and sleepy downtowns.

The sound of children screaming from the top of roller coasters and sight of traffic-clogged coastal roadways are replaced with barren beach vistas and fishermen in multiple layers yelling about their prize catches.

But there are other tourists, though not the type seeking kitschy T-shirts and boardwalk pizza.

New Jersey’s wintertime beach visitors are more exotic, as wildlife enjoys the desolation.

Foxes, seals, and snowy owls become the main attraction, dazzling photographers who come to capture the animals enjoying the quiet Jersey Shore.