MELBOURNE, Fla. -- Right whales are making their yearly migration past the Florida coast and people are lining up to get a look and lend a hand to help.

"It's just incredible," said Cindy Dolaway, a member of a right whale watching network that covers the Central Florida beaches from December through March. "The first time I saw a right whale off of our beaches, I was so excited. I just can't describe to you what that was like. To see a right whale, that's the granddaddy of all experiences."

Images: Right Whales Migrate To Florida

For volunteers like Dolaway, right whale watching is about stewardship, about helping to save a species. Only about 300 North Atlantic right whales are left.

The whales spend most of the year off the Canadian coast, but this time of year they come to the warm waters off Brevard and Volusia counties to bear their young.

"It's so exciting to see them. I've seen them jump out of the water and flap their tails and play with their babies. It makes your heart race," right whale watcher Mary Bowman said.

The right whale's worst enemies are ships. More die in collisions with ships than from any other cause, according to the Marine Resources Council.

To help prevent deaths, the whale spotter network alerts the Navy and Coast Guard of the positions of whales and warnings are broadcast to ships in the area.

Right whales also run afoul of other manmade perils, such as fish nets. One whale recently entangled in a net got away before rescuers could remove the net.

"Now it's up to the volunteer whale watchers on the beach to help find it," Bowman said.

The Marine Resources Council says people who live in high-rise condos along the shore are the luckiest because they're great perches for whale spotting.