Southern right whales visit NSW south coast beaches

It’s been a tough time of late so these majestic shots of mother and calf southern right whales playing off the NSW south coast are just the tonic we need right now.

It’s a sight to raise the spirits — even though few have seen it because of the lockdown — a pair of southern right whale calves and their “very protective” mothers.

These majestic creatures have been visiting the south coast’s prettiest beaches and inlets during August.

“We have counted five adults, two of which have calves, in NSW waters in the past two months,” Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia vice president Jools Farrell said.

A southern right whale calf and mother at Tuross Head. Picture: Maree Jackson

Mother and calf close to the shore at Bendalong. Picture: Maree Jackson

“It’s pretty rare for NSW to have such a large number sighted off our coast, especially those with calves.

“They are on the endangered list, with about 270-275 around South Australia and Victoria.”

Southern right whales can be seen as far north as Port Macquarie in June before they turn around and head back towards Antarctica for the summer.

Adults can weigh as much as four Sydney buses (80 tonnes) and reach 18m in length, or one and a half Sydney buses.

Ocean View Photography’s Maree Jackson took shots of a mother and calf at Bendalong (south of Sussex Inlet) on August 10, Pebbly Beach (north of Batemans Bay) on August 14 and Turros Head (near Moruya) on August 16.

Southern right whale mother and calf at Shoalhaven. Picture: Joshua Burkinshaw

Around July 18 a single mother and calf was spotted in the Hawkesbury River near Palm Beach.

“They seem to like to bring their babies into shallow water and move towards rock formations like what there is at Broulee (south of Batemans Bay),” Mrs Jackson said.

“They keep their babies close to the shore line. I think it’s protection rather than anything else.

Whales investigate the shoreline at Shoalhaven Beach. Picture: Joshua Burkinshaw

“They are very different to the humpback whale. Humpbacks are further out to sea and allow their calves to be much more independent.

“Humpback mums will let their calves play around. They will also come up to breach.”

Mrs Jackson took these southern right whale pictures with a drone, which is allowed to go no closer than 100m from them.

There is a boat distance limit of 100m from adults and 300m from calves, while swimmers can get within 30m.

“We are sorry people are in lockdown and cannot see them but we wanted to ensure these photographs get out there to share the joy of these beautiful creatures,” Mrs Jackson said.

“Normally it’s amazing the amount of people who look out for the whales during their migration.”