Laatvlieger Eptesicus serotinus als prooi van Sperwer Accipiter nisus

On 11 April 2010, during a pre-breeding visit to a Sparrowhawk territory in an urban park in Ridderkerk, near Rotterdam, The Netherlands, the remains of a Serotine Eptesicus serotinus were found on a tree trunk in use as a plucking post. The remains consisted of the nasal part of the head and both wings. Measurements and photographs were taken to confirm the initial identification of the bat species. The remnants are kept in the Natural History Museum Rotterdam under catalogue number NMR 9990- 2983. Bats are rarely caught by Sparrowhawks and only few such records exist, none of which concern Serotines. Some publications on observations of Sparrowhawks hunting bats, including possibly Serotines, are discussed. Food shortage in early spring for both Sparrowhawk and Serotine might have attributed to this rare case of predation.