THIS rare visitor to Oxford will send twitchers into a frenzy – but we can’t tell you where he is.

Kingfishers are increasingly difficult to find and, because it is currently looking for a life-long mate, its chosen habitat has to be protected.

Usually seen only as a bright blue flash moving rapidly away, they fly low over water, and hunt fish from riverside perches, occasionally hovering above the surface. They are vulnerable to hard winters.

Freelance photographer John Gaisford, 73, snapped the bird while enjoying a walk in the city on Sunday.

He said: “It was just a chance shot – it is the first time I have ever seen a kingfisher in the wild. We need to keep his location a secret because we don’t want hordes of photographers disrupting his environment.”