A family of massive killer whales have delighted wildlife watchers by making a surprise appearance off the Buchan coast.
The pod of three females and two males was spotted at Rattray Head, near Fraserburgh, on Monday morning.
They travelled north along the outer Moray Firth, past St Combs and Inverallochy, to the edge of the Broch’s Kinnaird Head.
Experts said it is rare to see Orcas off the east coast.
Last year, three killer whales were seen in waters near Peterhead.
The trio, which included a large male nicknamed John Coe, are part of a west coast group that has been monitored by experts since the 1990s.
The sighting off Buchan in August was the first time this particular pod had been spotted on the east coast.
Last night, Claire Matthews, manager at the Macduff Marine Aquarium, said: “This is fantastic news. I had heard reports from the weekend that orcas were around.
“They are definitely not common around here, but I wonder if they are now becoming more frequent visitors to this area. There were certainly some amazing reports of orcas from last summer.”
The whales were photographed by Longside pensioner Tim Marshall, who was at Rattray walking his dogs with wife Joy.
“We were actually on our way back to the car when a movement caught my eye near the lighthouse,” he said. “I thought it might have been a dorsal fin and expected to get views of bottle-nose dolphin. After what seemed like ages three fins appeared, including the enormous upright fin of a male killer whale.”
Mr Marshall, a retired air traffic controller, said the pod took an interest in a group of seals resting on nearby rocks.
“I saw killer whales up here last year but they were a long way offshore at Collieston, so seeing these quite close in was absolutely brilliant,” he said.