What a photo! This elusive yet iconic bird has been spotted at a nature reserve near a West Sussex village

A photographer has taken a stunning snap of an elusive bird near a West Sussex village.

Bill Thornton from Warnham submitted a picture to this newspaper, which was taken on Friday, August 2, that shows the iconic, yet often hard-to-find kingfisher.

He said: “The Kingfisher stands proud with its catch at Warnham Nature Reserve.”

According to Charlotte Owen at the Sussex Wildlife Trust, the kingfisher is ‘the ultimate angler’ with ‘lightning reflexes and deadly accuracy’.

She said: “The ideal fishing perch is one or two metres above the water, with a clear view of any unsuspecting sticklebacks below. With a target in sight, the sparrow-sized bird plunges from its perch in a split second, crossing the divide between air and water at up to 25 mph.”

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