Common Kingfisher by Dean Eades

With close to 5,000 uploaded photos, Common Kingfisher is among the most popular of all the species to be featured in the BirdGuides gallery. Among these there have been plenty of outstanding images, including numerous Photo of the Week winners – and a Photo of the Year, too.

With that in mind, it takes a truly exceptional image of a kingfisher to truly catch our collective eye here at BirdGuides. Dean Eades' mesmerising shot above does just that. Captured just after a successful fishing foray, this image is perfectly exposed and a fast shutter speed has ensured feather-perfect detail on the bird. Set against a diffuse background and with water droplets splashing everywhere, this is a fabulously dynamic winning shot. Well done to Dean!

Other notable images

Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Nairn, Moray & Nairn (Alex Penn).

Canada Goose, Pontefract, West Yorkshire (Joe Seymour).

Red-breasted Goose, Cley Marshes NWT, Norfolk (Ian Bollen).

Tawny Owl, Keighley, West Yorkshire (Irene Harrison).

Glossy Ibis, Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire (Terry Stevenson).

Long-tailed Tit, Woburn, Bedfordshire (Nigel Kiteley).

Tenerife Blue Chaffinch, Tenerife, Tenerife (Peter Garrity).

Snow Bunting, Cleeve Hill, Gloucestershire (Paul Samuels).