A rare Southern Right Whale has been spotted off Tathra on the Far South Coast.
Local resident and photographer, Terry Dixon, of Oceanspray Photography heard reports there was a Southern Right whale hanging around in the bay on Sunday morning (July 9), before he rushed to get his drone to film it and the results below are stunning.
“I looked out the window and realised it was still there, so I got the drone and shot it out on the back deck and followed it around through the beach there and up around the (Tathra) Wharf,” Dixon said.
“I captured it just out the front of the (Tathra Surf) Club house and it was rubbing itself on the bottom, then swan towards the wharf,” he said.
“I was lucky enough that it sort of stuck it’s head out of the water to have a look at the workers, then it headed off south down the coast.”
Dixon has taken some incredible marine photos and videos over the years and he told East Coast Radio it was rare to spot Southern Right Whales in the area.
“Southern Rights are a rare species on this part of the coastline,” Dixon said.
“Our East Coast Southern Right Whales are the only ones in the world which are not inreasing in numbers from the whaling and scientists don’t know why,” he said.
“It’s good to take these photos and pass them onto the scientists who study Southern Rights, so they can identify the whales, to see where and how they’re travelling.”
The Southern Right sighting comes in the same fortnight that eight Orcas were captured off Merimbula by Tathra Photographer David Rogers, and a white humpback whale calf was captured off Guerilla Bay by Batemans Bay Photographer Dylan Golden .
Images and Videos: Terry Dixon Oceanspray Photography
