These amazing photos show a playful dolphin breaching and jumping 8ft in the air at a popular Highlands beauty spot.
Amateur wildlife photographer Ian Herd snapped the joyful pictures at the Moray Firth, near Inverness in the Highlands.
He had been tipped off that low tide was the best time to catch the bottlenose dolphins at play, and went along to have a look in the late afternoon.
Ian, 47, said: “When I got there, the dolphins were quite active before the tide had started coming in.
“I happened to be looking across at Fort George, and I caught this fantastic breach.”
The stunning photographs show a dolphin leaping into the air and turning, before re-entering the water, while another from the same pod begins to emerge from the sea.
Ian from Alness, Ross and Cromarty, added: “I’d say it went about 8ft into the air, out of the water.
“It takes a lot of power and energy to get to that height.
“The dolphins were jumping around all over the place – it was quite spectacular.”
by Sarah Ward