Clive Newcombe, of Pinnocks Way, Dean Court, Botley, was astonished as he captured a series of pictures of a bird of prey making a kill in mid-air at Farmoor Reservoir.

The keen photographer and occasional bird-watcher, saw the rare scene while resting. He said: “I saw the commotion, so whipped my camera out.”

Mr Newcombe 67, used his Sony A200 DSLR to capture the images, with the use of a zoom lens and a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second.

The photograph shows a hobby, a member of the falcon family, swooping down to take a swift in mid-air.

He said: “It was only later I realised it was a hobby.

“At first I thought it was a kestrel.”

According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, there are only 2,200 breeding pairs of hobbies in the UK. It is highly unusual for one to be spotted at three in the afternoon, when the photograph was taken.

Mr Newcombe said: “It was a surprise all round. I think it must have young somewhere to be hunting at that time of day.”

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