Bijeneter Merops apiaster als prooi voor een Sperwer Accipiter nisus

In small deciduous woodlots in open farmland near Harkstede in the province of Groningen, annually 1-2 pairs of Eurasian Sparrowhawks were recorded between 1993 and 2001; nine breeding attempts were successful, raising a total of 14 males and 19 females (Table 1). Within a kilometer of the Sparrowhawk’s breeding site, a sandpit attracted eight European Bee-eaters in May 2001, which eventually excavated several holes. Presumably one of these Bee-eaters was found depredated on a plucking site of the Sparrowhawks on 16 July (Photo).