LAST month a photograph I took of a pair of sparring sparrowhawks won recognition in the 2015 British Wildlife Photography Awards.

The picture, which won highly commended in the animal behaviour category, is now on display alongside the other winning photographs at London's Mall Galleries.

I am pleased at the way I caught the two birds in the frame; their talons locked in deadly combat, their wings outstretched in hostility.

But in fact this photograph was taken as background research for a painting. I spent six months persuading a female to feed regularly in my garden in Thixendale in order to get it to pose for its portrait.

I wanted a model I could rely so I had to get it feeding from the same spot every day - where I could be there to photograph it.

This was a particular challenge as sparrowhawks only hunt live prey. After giving this some thought I remembered that they don’t always finish their meal in one go and will often leave a kill half eaten to come back to.

With this in mind, I decided to take a carcass from a sparrowhawk kill and slowly move it a few metres away each day until it was in a convenient place for me to photograph.

But first I needed to work out how I could exchange a sparrowhawk kill with offerings of my own - so that if I did I could get a bird to return to the same spot again and again.

I decided to try out my plan on the female sparrowhawk that often visits my garden. If I was successful it would mean I could photograph her everyday – and at the same time keep her away from the song birds on my bird table.

I noticed that she would often perch on top of the swing seat in the garden, so I began by leaving a partially-eaten pigeon there. This didn't interest her at first, but then the wind picked up and moved the wings of the pigeon and the movement clearly caught her eye because she spotted it and went on to feed.

It took a long time to gradually persuade her that there would be food at this same spot every day - and then I had to move the spot to a place where I could watch her from the house. I did this by moving the carcass just a few feet every day and eventually I had her.

Then one day a new and more aggressive young female sparrowhawk moved in. I was first aware of her presence when I heard the garden birds chattering urgently in alarm.

My sparrowhawk stopped eating and turned to face the direction of the noise. Suddenly she fanned her tail and lowered her head in a defensive posture.

With astonishing speed a second hawk came into the frame. The original hawk flapped her wings up in the air and fanned its tail even wider, to make herself look as large and threatening as possible.

But the second hawk was not going to be put off. She made a grab for the pigeon, tugging on its wing. It then lunged at the other hawk, pushing it off the kill.

It was an explosive moment. My camera can take up to 10 frames a second and captured some astonishing images that were too quick for the human eye.

As I reviewed my photographs I could tell that this intruder was a much younger female, possibly just that year’s chick.

My original sparrowhawk was about two or three years old and was much more attractive. In fact, she became the model for my final painting. This younger bird equalled its rival in size but was already at this age more aggressive. At first I thought that the battle I had watched would be a one off encounter, but over the next two weeks the two hawks tussled over ownership of my feeding station.

Occasionally I would see them both perched on the hedge just 20 yards apart, almost daring each other to go down first. Eventually the younger bird won and became a daily visitor.

I thought I had lost my more attractive model, but as I opened my daughter’s curtains one morning I saw the original female sparrowhawk in the garden below.

I was glad she was back. Her return led to a few more battles, but eventually the younger hawk disappeared and the older bird resumed its habitual lunchtime feed. She made a great subject to paint.

Robert Fuller’s photograph is on display in London’s Mall Galleries and at his gallery in Thixendale. The BWPA’s accompanying book is also available at Robert’s gallery.