A 59-year-old photographer shared stunning photos that show a bald eagle taking an unlucky fish from the Alaskan seas.

Alan Murphy from London was exploring Alaska when he took the magnificent images which show the precise moment a 14lb bald eagle with six-foot wing-span swooped from the sky and caught its meal.

Flying at up to 100mph towards the Alaskan seas, the bird’s talon wrapped around the chosen fish.

Mr. Murphy spends eight days a year leading workshops in the Alaskan mountains to teach aspiring photographers on how best to take photos of the national symbol of America.

“The eagles will take any species of fish they can find as long as they can lift it out of the water,’ Alan said,” the 59-year-old said. “Sometimes, they will lock their talons onto a fish that’s too big and they’ll need to swim to the shore to drag the fish up.”

He continued: “They can spot fish from a very high elevation yet they grab the fish so delicately with their talons extended out in front of them.

“The bald eagles in Alaska are quite tame – they’re used to boats and fisherman. They will go about their business right next to you which allowed us to get very close.

“When the image with the full-banking wing spread was captured I was just metres away with my camera at water level.”

Bald eagles fly at around 30mph in regular flight and they can fly more than 30 miles a day.

“In 1963, there were just 417 pairs of bald eagles. Now, there are over 69,000 pairs,” Alan said. “They can be found in every state of the United States. It’s a great privilege to be able to photograph them.”

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