The tour had all but ended when we decided to look at one last whale pod coming from the north.  We were all astounded to find we had encountered an all white humback whale traveling south with one other whale.  We suspected it was Migaloo and this was later confirmed by on board researcher Peta Beeman (Southern Cross University Marine Ecology Research Centre).

Migaloo and his companion were heading south at normal whale speed when all of a sudden they swung right and headed into the bay with a number of other whales.  For the next thirty minutes we were treated to a once in a life time encounter with this famous humpback.

It wasn’t long before Migaloo and his companion decided it was time to leave the bay and head south past Cape Byron back towards their feeding grounds off the Antarctic continent.

This the fourth encounter Whale Watching Byron Bay has had with Migaloo who researchers believe is almost certainly  an albino humpback whale.  Let’s hope there is plenty more Migaloo encounters to come.

Most of the whales were heading south past Cape Byron with many males competing for females.  This means we saw lots of surface action up close with a couple of curious whale swimming right under the boat.  Behavior like this is common and should continue for the next few weeks as the humpback whales head south back to their feeding grounds off the Antarctic continent.

All the traffic wasn’t all south as we encountered a mother with her new born calf heading north. The calf was very small and grey indicating it was born within the last days and maybe only hours old.

The weather forecast is excellent for the the next few days so come along and experience the amazing migration.

Most humpback whales are traveling south returning to thier feeding grounds.  These whales are very active with lots of competitive behavior between males for the attention of breeding females.

We were also lucky enough to encounter a seal sun baking on Julian Rocks today.  It is quite rare to encounter seals this far north but every now and then they like to rest up here.

Here are some pictures of today’s tour where some males were excited by the prospect of suiting a potential female.

We were also lucky enough to see a southern right whale just off Byron Bay’s Main Beach. These great whales are usually only found on Australia’s southern coast.  There is, however, a small population of southern right whales that migrate up Australia’s east coast.  This population is believed to be genetically different from those in the south.

We have also encountered quite a few new mums that have caved on prior to reaching Byron Bay (most calves are born well north of here).  This is also a result of the increase in population size.

There is a lot of competitive behavior amongst male humpback whales for females with lots of breaching and fin slapping to entertain whale watchers off Cape Byron.

We were also lucky enough to encounter a New Zealand fur seal spending some time at Julian Rocks.  This seal is rarely seen this far north and may have been escaping the wild weather that hit Sydney and surrounds last week.

Why humpback whales breach so much is still a mystery but there are a number of theories.  At the time there was a lot of whale song going on so the breaching by this whale may possibly have been a way of letting the singing whales now where it was.

Note all the sea gulls hanging around for a feed of skin which is shed in large amounts when they breach.

No matter what the reason it was a good show.

At the time we were unaware it was a mother and calf as this is very early for this experience.  Perhaps this mother was showing the calf what a boat is as over it’s life boats will be part of this humpbacks life.  Although most calves are born further north it is expected that as the east coast humpback whale population grows we will encounter more early calves.

We also clearly heard the humpback whales producing whale song on our hydrophone.  This means the breeding males are present.

The northern migration of Humpback whales past Cape Byron is well underway and it’s continuous whales until the end of October so get out there.

The afternoon tour was as good as it gets with three very inquisitive whales swimming up to the boat to check us out before breaching off into the distance.  Unfortunately one of the whales had scars in front of its dorsal fin showing evidence of being hit by a boat some time in the past (check out the photos taken on Friday).  This humpback whale was lucky as the wounds have healed.  This shows the importance of always being aware that the whales are here just off the Australian east coast and all boat masters should keep a lookout.  The whales have enough to concern them without having to worry about being hit by a boat.

The whales have just started their migration past Cape Byron and will continue until November so come along with Whale Watching Byron Bay and enjoy this amazing natural display.

With many whales reported off Sydney and heading our way it looks like it’s going to be a great whale watching season. New South Wales National Park Service is predicting a record number of humpback whales travelling along New South Wales this year as the population approaches 14000 with 1000-1400 calves likely to be born in the waters off the central Great Barrier Reef.

Here are some photos from today.

Whale Watching Byron Bay has begun tours so come along and enjoy this amazing migration.