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Plymouth, MA - Whales, Jaeger and a Rock 8/7/2025

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     This past week I took a road trip up to Plymouth, MA for a whale watching excursion. I’ve been wanting to expand my pelagic experiences and ever since my eldest daughter moved up to Rhode Island I’ve wanted to get out on the New England waters.  I had heard that the area known as Stellwagen Bank is a popular feeding location for several species of whales and dolphins.  I decided that if I didn’t make the trip soon I would miss the opportunity for another year.  The weather looked good for midweek so my daughter and sister joined me on the trip. Stellwagen Bank is a marine sanctuary not too far from the Massachusetts coast between Gloucester and Provincetown.  There are many operators offering whale watching excursions to the sanctuary.  Since our home base for the trip was my daughter’s apartment in Rhode Island, I chose the closest one which was in Plymouth, almost 75 miles away.  We chose the morning sail so that afterwards we could sp...
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Whales, Shearwaters and Some Tuna. 7/27 - 7/28/25

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     Last week I was able to get out on the water twice.  Sunday afternoon I met my friend Jason in Keyport, Monmouth County and we took a whale watch outside of the Sandy Hook area.  Less than 12 hours later I joined my friend Captain John on a tuna fishing trip out of Barnegat Inlet, Ocean County.  During the 24-plus hour span I was treated to several up-close whale interactions, saw hundreds of shearwaters and dolphins, and even caught a few yellow fin tunas . On Sunday the whale cruise took us out of Sandy Hook Bay to just a few miles east of land.  Other than the usual inshore seabirds, there was not much marine activity.  But from inside the harbor and out to the ocean we saw many pods of Atlantic menhaden , or bunker as we call them in New Jersey, which was a good sign.  The juvenile bunker is a targeted food for much of the local recreational and commercial fish species.  It is also a favorite food of our whales.  The capt...
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Birds of Ocean County in Print

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     Following up on my self-published book, Birds of Island Beach State Park in 2023, I am proud to announce that Birds of Ocean County, NJ is now available.  Birds of Ocean County is an account summary of all the bird species that have occurred in there.   eBird lists 404 species of wild origin for the county with one provisional for 405.  Using eBird records, bird banding records, historical ornithology periodicals and bird records committee reports I have found 421 bird species and another 15 species not of wild origin through 2024. Front and back covers.   © S. Weiss The paperback book is 264 pages with an account of each species.  The accounts are each accompanied by a representative photograph and a colored distribution map.  The birds are presented in the most recent eBird taxonomy and divided into family groups.   The book is fully sourced and referenced.  It includes an Introduction, Table of Contents, Reference p...
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Wildlife Around Disney World’s Resorts. 7/4-7/25

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     One of the things I like about visiting Disney World is staying at its resorts.  The ease of using the Disney-provided transportation from your resort to any of its parks is a major plus.  But I also like the habitats within and around the resorts.  I often head out early, while my family is still stirring or preparing for the day, and before the heat of the day takes hold, to walk around the resort in search of indigenous wildlife.  I’ll often do the same at night before going to bed.  I always hope to find something new, and our most recent trip did not disappoint. Left, feral pig, or Eurasian wild pig.  Right, nine-banded armadillo.    © S. Weiss We stayed at Coronado Springs, which has become our preferred destination.  Over the years I have built up quite a list of Disney wildlife.  In the last 20 or so years I have encountered such wildlife as alligators , feral pigs and armadillos .  I have 30 bird specie...
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