Red Bank (Middletown), New Jersey

David Saidnawey

We’re passionate about birds and nature. That’s why we opened a Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop in our community.

Red Bank (Middletown), New Jersey

Union Square Shopping Center,
478 Route 35
Red Bank (Middletown), NJ 07701

Phone: (732) 345-5070
Fax: (732) 345-5072
Email: Send Message

Store Hours:
Mon - Fri: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sat: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sun: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

David's Whale Watching Expedition
near the San Juan Islands in Washington State

June, 2009

Some of you may know that I was in Seattle for our Franchise’s Annual Meeting a few weeks ago. While I was there, I had the opportunity to go on a whale watch and pelagic (ie ocean birds) trip. It was an amazing experience, and I thought some of you might be interested in what we saw. The pictures shown here were taken on the whale watch by fellow WBU storeowners Barry and Sue Stevens from Johnson City, NY. Many thanks to Barry and Sue for allowing me to post them!

We saw two types of whales - Orcas (actually a member of the dolphin family) and Minke Whales, which are one of the smallest whales (they’re “only” 26 - 33 ft long). The Orcas put on quite a show, including breaching (propelling their bodies out of the water) and spy hopping (raising their heads above the water to see what’s going on). We also saw lots of Harbor Seals.

The bird activity was great too. As the boat left the dock, we saw a Bald Eagle flying overhead. We later saw another one perched on a cliff. A few birds we saw (like the Double-crested Cormorant and Turkey Vulture) are local birds here in NJ as well. Lots of other birds were new to me. They included a few Tufted Puffins (one flew right over the deck of the boat!), two Black Oystercatchers, Brandt’s Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklet, and Pigeon Guillemot. In addition, we observed some gulls that were new to me: the Heermanns Gull and the Glaucous-winged Gull.