Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Arctic Skua by Cliff Gilbert

With a multitude of seabird images posted again this week thanks mainly to the Scilly pelagics, it’s perhaps no surprise that another ocean-going species takes the winner’s spot. However it’s a shot with a difference, taken by Cliff Gilbert, showing a dark-morph Arctic Skua chasing a Eurasian Sparrowhawk on the north Norfolk coast.

I don’t recall ever seeing these two species anywhere near each other, never mind managing a photo of them side by side. Take away either of the species and it’s fair to say it wouldn’t be a winning shot but the two together, both nicely in focus and in good poses, combine to provide a unique and quite gob-smacking capture.

Congratulations to Cliff, who froze this extraordinary moment in time with a 1/2000th second shutter speed at ISO1250, using a 400mm lens.

Other notable images

Raven, Dorset (Joe Murphy)

White-winged Tern, Lincolnshire (Dean Eades)

Eurasian Hobby, Lincolnshire (Oliver Woodman)

Black-crowned Night Heron, Israel (Wally Harris)

Wilson's Storm Petrel, Isles of Scilly (David Aitken) 

Band-rumped Storm Petrel, Madeira (Dave Grant)

Bulwer's Petrel, Madeira (Dave Grant)

European Storm Petrel, Isles of Scilly (Richard Stonier)

Common Kingfisher, Glamorgan (Colin Harvey)

• You can read more on bird photography from Steve Young, including product reviews and a regular Photo Challenge for readers, every month in Birdwatch magazine.