Whales and their calves have put on impressive displays on the northern beaches this week as Humpbacks head south for the summer.

Hobby photographer Suzy Williams said she and her husband were checking out the sunrise at Dee Why Beach when they were surprised by three whales.

media_camera A whale tail off Dee Why Beach. Picture: Suzy and Michael Williams

“I was actually taking a photo of something else and someone walking past pointed them out to me,” Ms Williams, who goes by @MrsSPOY on Instagram, said.

“There they were, three whales, I think one was a calf.”

“I raced up Curl Curl headland and my husband stayed at the point and we both got some good photos.

“They were literally right off Dee Why Point.”

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service spokesman Lawrence Orel said humpback whales were currently on their migration south to feed on krill in cooler waters.

“At this time of year, you can expect to see humpback whales and southern right whales,” Mr Orel said.

“It’s not uncommon to see humpback mothers and their calves. Sometimes, they’re accompanied by a male — that’s called escorting — and it offers safety in numbers.

“Calves are quite vulnerable and their main predator is an orca.

“It’s rare to see an orca, but they are known to follow migrating humpback whales and their calves on their migration south.

“We expect that as the humpback whale population increases so too with the orca population.”

Mr Orel also reminded people to leave the migrating whales in peace.

“Often, the trip south can be quite tiring, especially for a mother with a new calf and you’ll see them going into protected areas to rest,” Mr Orel said.

“We know it’s tempting, but remind people to resist the urge to get closer than the maximum approach distance, which for mothers and calves is 300m.

Eyes in the Sky Visuals used a drone to get this photo of a southern right whale earlier in the migration season.