Epic battle in the sky as kestrel steals owl's vole

This magnificent aerial battle between two majestic birds took place above an English field as they fought for the same prey.

A barn owl swooped through the air gripping a vole with its hooked beak, while a sly kestrel followed in chase, hoping for a free dinner.

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The beautiful owl, with its golden-grey feathers and bright white underbelly, ignored the chestnut-brown kestrel - which is only half its size.

But the ambitious kestrel reached out with her powerful claws and managed to steal the tiny mammal from the owl's clutch.

The two impressive birds of prey then played an epic game of tug-of-war, before the owl reclaimed his catch and flew victoriously away.

These 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 these shots.

Chris, from Cresswell, Tyne and Wear, 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 10 am, so I decided to wait until the evening to see if it came back.

"The owl returned in he 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 Chris captured these shots during the final time this spectacle happened.

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."

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."