This is the stunning moment a kingfisher majestically catches its prey in one swift dive.
Wildlife photographer Roger Coan captured the perfect shot as the brightly coloured bird pierced the water in the hunt for its next meal.
The kingfisher waited for the perfect moment before diving into the river to catch the unsuspecting fish in less than a minute.
Roger, 59, said: “I absolutely love these birds.
“They are by far my favourite birds, because they’re fairly illusive, and they’re just so fast, it’s just a fantastic feeling.
“This bird that you can see is a male bird, the female has a yellow under-beak, but the female in this family was nesting at the time this was taken.”
Roger, from Morpeth, Northumberland, made a two-and-a-half hour journey to the River Tarrfe in the Scottish Highlands to see the kingfisher in action.
He said: “I come back with a few thousand images each time, it’s a whole day up there and I spend around £15, 000 a year doing trips up there.
“There are still some shots that I want to get,
“They’re kind of baited, the fish are put there to attract them, even though the birds are wild.
“Now I take people up there too, because it’s there for everybody, they might not have expensive equipment, but just to show them how to get the shots is wonderful.
“The more times you photograph something, the more chance you have of catching that unique moment- it’s addictive.”
