Colebrook lake (north) is a raucous, cacophony of sound. Gulls have returned, and they scream and shout at each other all day. Right now, their minds are on breeding and defending their mates and territory.
I picked up this battle a bit late on. The birds started just northwest of where I was standing. The birds had just crashed into the water, and were now trying to get airborne.
For some reason I lost them at this point. Probably spotted something more interesting to photograph. Anyway, we pick up the action when both birds had flown south east, and were much closer to me.
Now this is what I call a vertical take off. Harrier jump jet has nothing on me!
A bit of weaving and diving and dodging made for tricky tracking. Not helped by overcast conditions and lens at full 600mm zoom.
With victim down, the aggressor fly off.
90% luck, 5% field craft, 5% camera skills.