These incredible photos show two British birds of prey doing aerial battle for a meal as a brave kestrel tries to steal a meal from an owl twice its size.
The barn owl swooped through the air gripping a vole with its hooked beak, while a sly kestrel followed in pursuit, hoping for a free dinner.
The incredible action photographs were captured by Chris Castling, 60, in a field near the village of Cresswell, Northumberland.
Food fight! Moment a kestrel swooped in to try and wrestle a vole from the beak of a barn owl mid-flight
Photographer Chris Castling caught the kestrel and barn owl doing battle over a field in Cresswell, Northumberland
Caught amazing images of the kestrel trying to steal a vole from the talons of the barn owl in epic aerial tug-of-war
The kestrel tried to steal the meal five or six times but the barn owl, more than twice its size, emerged as the victor
By James Dunn For Mailonline
3 November 2015
Daily Mail
These incredible photos show two British birds of prey doing aerial battle for a meal as a brave kestrel tries to steal a meal from an owl twice its size.
The barn owl swooped through the air gripping a vole with its hooked beak, while a sly kestrel followed in pursuit, hoping for a free dinner.
The majestic owl initially ignores the tiny kestrel, only half its size, flying obliviously in front, seemingly unaware of the threat pursuing it.
Food fight: These incredible photos show the battle over a meal as a plucky kestrel attempting to steal a vole from the talons of a much larger barn owl above an English field
The chase: The barn owl looks seemingly unaware that the kestrel is flying on its tail with an eye on the vole hanging from its hooked beak as it flies around oblivious to its pursuer
Brave: The gutsy kestrel flies continually closer to the bigger hunter as it declares aerial war over the meal hanging from the owl's powerful beak, hoping to steal the mammal from its clutches
Approach: The skillful kestrel may be smaller than the barn owl but it flies in with an expert approach, using precision skills to make a move on the owl which is trying to evade the theft
Grab: The kestrel flies over the owl which may be bigger but doesn't seem to have the same aerial agility of the smaller bird
But the ambitious kestrel then reaches out with her powerful claws and tries to steal the tiny mammal from the owl's clutch.
The two impressive birds of prey then play an epic game of tug-of-war, before the owl eventually reclaims his catch and flies away victoriously.
The incredible action photographs were captured by Chris Castling, 60, in a field near the village of Cresswell, Northumberland.
The dedicated wildlife photographer arrived at the scene at five in the morning, and waited all day to get the shots.
Chris, from Cresswell, a popular bird watching area, said: 'I intentionally came up to this spot because I had seen the owl a few times before.
'It came out in the morning hunting and flying around until about 10am, so I decided to wait until the evening to see if it came back.
Attack: The unrelenting kestrel continues to do battle with the bigger bird, unwavering in its approach as it tries to nab the catch from above the field
Dog fight: The two impressive birds of prey then played an epic game of tug-of-war, both trying to use their strength to fly away with the vole and win the battle
'The owl returned in afternoon and I noticed a kestrel on a telegraph pole eyeing up the owl whenever it caught a vole or mouse.'
The kestrel tried to steal food from the owl four or five times, and Mr Castling captured these shots during the final pursuit.
He said: 'The owl flew right next to the telegraph pole where the kestrel was, with what looked like a bank vole in its beak.
'The kestrel came down and held out its claws, and tried to grab the vole.
'It was like the two birds were playing tug-of-war.'
Relentless: The kestrel may be half the owl's size but it won't be put off by the size difference, using all its strength and skill in the air to try and fly away with the vole
Almost: The kestrel looks as though he is about to win the war but in the end, the owl's strength wins the battle and it reclaims the catch and flies away victoriously
Another go: The kestrel tried to steal food from the owl four or five times, and photographer Chris Castling captured these shots during the final pursuit
Chris added: 'The kestrel was very lazy - it would be using its energy much more efficiently if it tried to catch its own food.'
The 'cheeky' kestrel eventually gave up, not managing once to keep the owl's dinner, before disappearing into the night.
Chris described the whole experience as 'amazing'.
He said: 'If you have the chance to see a barn owl - it is like a giant moth, it floats and flaps and darts around.
'To take photographs like these the secret is to decide on a good space with nice light and wait there rather than to try and follow the owl.'
The barn owl swooped through the air gripping a vole with its hooked beak, while a sly kestrel followed in pursuit, hoping for a free dinner.
The incredible action photographs were captured by Chris Castling, 60, in a field near the village of Cresswell, Northumberland.
Food fight! Moment a kestrel swooped in to try and wrestle a vole from the beak of a barn owl mid-flight
Photographer Chris Castling caught the kestrel and barn owl doing battle over a field in Cresswell, Northumberland
Caught amazing images of the kestrel trying to steal a vole from the talons of the barn owl in epic aerial tug-of-war
The kestrel tried to steal the meal five or six times but the barn owl, more than twice its size, emerged as the victor
By James Dunn For Mailonline
3 November 2015
Daily Mail
These incredible photos show two British birds of prey doing aerial battle for a meal as a brave kestrel tries to steal a meal from an owl twice its size.
The barn owl swooped through the air gripping a vole with its hooked beak, while a sly kestrel followed in pursuit, hoping for a free dinner.
The majestic owl initially ignores the tiny kestrel, only half its size, flying obliviously in front, seemingly unaware of the threat pursuing it.
Food fight: These incredible photos show the battle over a meal as a plucky kestrel attempting to steal a vole from the talons of a much larger barn owl above an English field
The chase: The barn owl looks seemingly unaware that the kestrel is flying on its tail with an eye on the vole hanging from its hooked beak as it flies around oblivious to its pursuer
Brave: The gutsy kestrel flies continually closer to the bigger hunter as it declares aerial war over the meal hanging from the owl's powerful beak, hoping to steal the mammal from its clutches
Approach: The skillful kestrel may be smaller than the barn owl but it flies in with an expert approach, using precision skills to make a move on the owl which is trying to evade the theft
Grab: The kestrel flies over the owl which may be bigger but doesn't seem to have the same aerial agility of the smaller bird
But the ambitious kestrel then reaches out with her powerful claws and tries to steal the tiny mammal from the owl's clutch.
The two impressive birds of prey then play an epic game of tug-of-war, before the owl eventually reclaims his catch and flies away victoriously.
The incredible action photographs were captured by Chris Castling, 60, in a field near the village of Cresswell, Northumberland.
The dedicated wildlife photographer arrived at the scene at five in the morning, and waited all day to get the shots.
Chris, from Cresswell, a popular bird watching area, said: 'I intentionally came up to this spot because I had seen the owl a few times before.
'It came out in the morning hunting and flying around until about 10am, so I decided to wait until the evening to see if it came back.
Attack: The unrelenting kestrel continues to do battle with the bigger bird, unwavering in its approach as it tries to nab the catch from above the field
Dog fight: The two impressive birds of prey then played an epic game of tug-of-war, both trying to use their strength to fly away with the vole and win the battle
'The owl returned in afternoon and I noticed a kestrel on a telegraph pole eyeing up the owl whenever it caught a vole or mouse.'
The kestrel tried to steal food from the owl four or five times, and Mr Castling captured these shots during the final pursuit.
He said: 'The owl flew right next to the telegraph pole where the kestrel was, with what looked like a bank vole in its beak.
'The kestrel came down and held out its claws, and tried to grab the vole.
'It was like the two birds were playing tug-of-war.'
Relentless: The kestrel may be half the owl's size but it won't be put off by the size difference, using all its strength and skill in the air to try and fly away with the vole
Another go: The kestrel tried to steal food from the owl four or five times, and photographer Chris Castling captured these shots during the final pursuit
Chris added: 'The kestrel was very lazy - it would be using its energy much more efficiently if it tried to catch its own food.'
The 'cheeky' kestrel eventually gave up, not managing once to keep the owl's dinner, before disappearing into the night.
Chris described the whole experience as 'amazing'.
He said: 'If you have the chance to see a barn owl - it is like a giant moth, it floats and flaps and darts around.
'To take photographs like these the secret is to decide on a good space with nice light and wait there rather than to try and follow the owl.'
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