These incredible images of Orcas were captured by a photographer in the north-east.
Nick Collins took this series of images off the coast of Newtonhill yesterday evening.
The eight-orca pod was seen travelling north, with others reportedly spotting them off Newburgh a couple of hours later.
Nick said: “I saw them around 7.45pm at Newtonhill after being alerted by social media as they had been seen at Stonehaven bay.
“People turned out to see them along the coast heading up to Aberdeen, including Muchalls, Newtonhill, Portlethen and Doonies.”
He added: “In a nice example of ‘Citizen Science’, Shetlands expert Hugh Harrop was able to identify the specific pod (27s) and individuals in the photos.
“Apparently they are regulars in Shetland and travel as far as Iceland.”
The picture below shows the pod matriarch.
And these images show one of the two males in group, with the breaching orca in the second image the youngest member of the pod, born in 2019.
In the past, the animals have travelled from Iceland in time for seal season.
Although frequently called “killer whales”, Orcas are actually the largest member of the dolphin family.
Bottlenose dolphins and porpoises are more commonly sighted in the north-east, with pods often seen at the mouth of Aberdeen Harbour and off the Moray Coast.
And back in 2017, wildlife watched were left amazed after a pair of humpback whales were spotted off the Moray coast.