Meet Siale ♥️🐋
Spotted off Cronulla, Siale the beautiful Albino Humpback. The rare white humpback whale confirmed by @happywhale_official to be the calf born off Tonga in 2024. ♥️
Last seen near Botany Bay, Sydney around 4:30 pm, this incredible albino giant continues its northward journey along the NSW coast.
If you’re lucky enough to spot Siale tomorrow, please report it to the ORRCA Whale & Dolphin Hotline on 02 9415 3333 so researchers can track its movements.
📍 Remember: watercraft must stay at least 500 m away, and normal drone rules apply, 100 m distance minimum. 💙🐋
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#whale #WhaleWatchingNSW #humpback #OceanPhotography #saile
#WhaleBreaching #NatureLovers #AustralianWildlife
#ExploreNSW #albinowhale
#lovelakemacquarie #OceanConservation #DronePhotography #NatureFromAbove #MajesticWhales #feelnsw #VisitNSW #WildlifeConservation #ProtectOurOceans #nswcoast #feelnsw #djiglobal #dji #albino #natgeoyourshot #humpbackhighway #ourdailyplanet #ocean #whalewatching #nsw
BRYDES • LUNGE
WAIT FOR THE BUBBLES 😨 Just look at this huge brydes whale! (Pronounced ‘Broodus”). Iwas just about to pack up to go home and saw some commotion with some birds off Moon Island near Swansea to which i then went to investigate and found this beautiful whale lunge feeding on some fish non stop! Always blows me away seeing them and always exciting to have them in our waters so close to shore! 🐋
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#whale #natgeoyourshot #OceanPhotography #WildlifePhotography
#longnosedfurseal #NatureLovers #natgeo #ExploreNSW #WhaleMigration
#SaveOurOceans #OceanConservation #DronePhotography #NatureFromAbove #SeaLife #VisitNSW #WildlifeConservation #natgeo #nswcoast #feelnsw #djiglobal #dji #ocean #ourdailyplanet #ocean #whalewatching #Lungefeeding #feeINSW #lakemacquarie #brydes #brydeswhale #lunge
I filmed this beautiful moment off Swansea. A bottlenose dolphin with her calf right by her side and a fresh red morwong in her mouth. It looked like she had just caught it and was about to teach the little one how to eat or hunt.
Seeing this on Mother’s Day was pretty special. A reminder of how strong and caring mums are, both in the ocean and in our own lives.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing mums out there. Hope you are feeling appreciated today 💐
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#BottlenoseDolphin #DolphinCalf #MarineLife #HappyMothersDay #OceanMoments #DolphinWatch #NatureFromAbove #DronePhotography #MarineMammals #AustralianWildlife #FeelNSW #WildlifePhotography #ProtectOurOceans #SwanseaNSW #OceanLife #MajesticMothers #NSWCoast #VisitNSW #MotherNature #SRDronography #feelnsw #ocean #visitlakemacquarie
FALSE KILLER WHALES ‼️
Have you ever seen false killer whales? Neither had I until today. I headed out this morning looking for early humpbacks in Ballina and instead came across a pod of five false killer whales, including a mother and calf. I filmed them off Lennox Head as well as they moved north, actively hunting fish. Hopefully this is the first of many sightings in the area.
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#falsekillerwhale #whalewatching #whalesofinstagram #ballina #australia
First whale or 2026 in Ballina ✨ the same whale seen by @cetashean 10 days prior in Kiama! The whale averaged at 4.62km for a total journey of around 736km! 🐋
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#humpbackwhale #whalewatching #whalesofinstagram #ballina #australia
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything and with whale season only a couple of months away, I thought what better than to look through my archives and find something I haven’t shared! There were so many breaches to choose from from this calf in the southern migration but here’s my favourite of them all 🐋✨
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Unfortunately didn’t spot any brydes whales but there’s always tomorrow!
#whale #WhaleWatchingSW #humpback #visitlakemacquarie
🐢💙 New Turtle Alert 💙🐢 This big, mighty Leatherback Sea Turtle is ‘0157 Atlas’😍, and I’d say the name fits perfectly 😄. Atlas was observed swimming at the surface and feeding on a large jellyfish near Green Island, just off the coast of Swansea, NSW, and was noticeably covered in a fair number of tiny barnacles.
Scott was incredibly fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, and encounters like this highlight just how valuable aerial drones have become for detecting and monitoring leatherback sea turtles, a species that is rare and notoriously difficult to spot from the water or shore 🐢🔍👀. Drones are especially powerful for leatherbacks because their key identifying feature, the pineal spot, is located directly on the top of the head and is often only visible from above. If you’re a drone pilot flying along the Australian coast, please keep an eye out and consider sharing any turtle sightings with us. Every observation helps us better understand these rare and remarkable animals 🙏.
🔍 Observer: Scott Robert (srdronography)
📇 Turtle ID: 0157 Atlas
🐢 Species: Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
📆 Date: 7 April 2025
📍 Location: Green Island, Swansea, City of Lake Macquarie, NSW
🕰️ Time: 11:30
👇 Depth: 0m
🧬 Sex: Unknown
🏊♂️ Observation Technique: Aerial Drone
🏷️ Flipper Tags: No flipper tags visible
This observation was submitted to the Sea Turtle Observatory via WeTransfer on 17th April 2025.
If you have footage from your sea turtle encounters from around your local reef or anywhere else around Australia, I would love to see it! 🙏 If you're interested in sharing your footage of your sea turtle encounters then please:
1: Share them with us at either our: - Sea Turtle Observatory FB group - Email: [email protected] - Instagram Chat (the.sea.turtle.observatory)
2: Add the Date, Location, Time, and Depth of your encounter and any interesting notes about the turtles' behaviour.
P.S If you have footage showing both sides of the sea turtle's face that would be even better haha 😁
#leatherbackseaturtle #australiaseaturtlemonitoring #australiaseaturtleconservation #citizenscience #swanseansw
Byron looking calm as ever…
But then there’s a shark smashing a bait ball,
manta rays cruising straight through the chaos,
and dolphins closing out the year in full send mode.
Hard to think of a better way to say goodbye to the year 🌊
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#ByronBay #ByronBayNSW #NSWCoast #VisitNSW #FeelNSW
It’s Hammer Time 🔨
I found three hammerheads all in the vicinity of a large bait ball at blacksmiths beach yesterday! This poor guy had some fresh wounds likely from a cookie cutter shark, which I have seen a few times before. I also found a leopard shark, which is nice to see them back in our waters 🦈
Shot on DJI Mavic 4 Pro
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#hammerhead #SharkWatchingNSW #OceanPhotography #NatureLovers #AustralianWildlife #ExploreNSW #SharksOfAustralia #LoveLakeMacquarie #OceanConservation #DronePhotography #NatureFromAbove #MarinePredators #FeelNSW #VisitNSW #WildlifeConservation #ProtectOurOceans
#NSWCoast #DJIGlobal #NatGeoYourShot #OurDailyPlanet #UnderwaterWorld #OceanLife
Loggerhead Sea Turtle 🐢
With the whale season nearing the end with the last few whales coming through, it’s time to find other beautiful marine creatures to find, and what better way than to start with this beautiful loggerhead sea turtle? Just look at all that moss that’s built up on their beautiful shell! 🐚
Shot on DJI Mavic 4 Pro
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#turtle #WhaleWatchingNSW #loggerhead #OceanPhotography
#NatureLovers #AustralianWildlife
#ExploreNSW #turtles
#lovelakemacquarie #OceanConservation #DronePhotography #NatureFromAbove #MajesticWhales #feelnsw #VisitNSW #WildlifeConservation #ProtectOurOceans #nswcoast #feelnsw #djiglobal #natgeoyourshot #humpbackhighway #ourdailyplanet #ocean #nsw
🌟That’s a wrap for whale season 2025🌟
What a year 2025 has been for whale watching.
The season started with rain and it even felt like the whales were arriving later than usual, but it turned into one I’ll never forget. From quiet, glassy mornings to surprising close-to-shore encounters, the ocean delivered more than I could have imagined.
This year I witnessed:
• Countless humpbacks
• Bryde’s whales
• Southern right whales
• and the rarest moment of all… Siale, the albino humpback, a true once-in-a-lifetime sighting.
I still have plenty of footage to go through and will continue sharing more, but I’m also looking forward to a short break after months of early mornings, long days and endlessly sitting by the ocean chasing the high of seeing these incredible animals.
2025 has set a new standard.
Here’s to awareness, protection and appreciation for the giants that share our coastline.
Shot on DJI Mavic 4 Pro
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#whale #WhaleWatchingNSW #humpback #OceanPhotography #albino
#WhaleBreaching #NatureLovers #AustralianWildlife
#ExploreNSW #bubblenet
#lovelakemacquarie #OceanConservation #DronePhotography #NatureFromAbove #MajesticWhales #feelnsw #VisitNSW #WildlifeConservation #ProtectOurOceans #nswcoast #feelnsw #djiglobal #brydes #southernrightwhale #natgeoyourshot #humpbackhighway #ourdailyplanet #ocean #whalewatching #nsw
