Thursday, November 06, 2008

Sparrowhawk Attack

Just a little note of something that happened yesterday. I was having some work done to the outside of my house when Pete ( the Builder) called me , saying there was a bat flying around the top of the house. I went outside to have a look and while we were watching , a Sparrowhawk suddenly appeared and chased the bat for about 10 seconds , before disappearing into the distance. We presumed it might have thought it was a small bird , but it failed in its attempt to secure its evening meal .The bat reappeared about 16 minutes later non the worse for its encounter Has anyone else ever seen a similar thing with a bat?

6 comments:

Nick Carter said...

No but I believe there is an Asian raptor called the Bat Hawk that specialises in bats as prey.

AndyC said...

Hi all ,I think the bat hawk is African and only hunts in the evening and can take between 4 and 11 bats per night.!!!

Nick Carter said...

Apparently its quite widespread, found the following on the web

The Bat Hawk (Macheiramphus alcinus) is a raptor found in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia to New Guinea. It is named for its diet, which consists mainly of bats. It requires open space in which to hunt, but will live anywhere from dense rainforest to semi-arid veld.

How long before there's one at Tophill Low?:)

Steve Blacksmith said...

We were watching two largish bats over the river at the back of the Puzzle Inn, Sowerby Bridge, a few years back.They were against the afterglow.
I looked round to see if there were any more and saw a Peregrine fly along Hollins Mill Lane at the opposite side of the pub. Almost instantly it dived through were the bats had been, having come round the pub. I didn't see a strike, but after that only one bat was flying.
There is a Bat Falcon in South America.(The Pantanal.) We had one pointed out to us when I volunteered on an Earthwatch project. It was dark like a mini-peregrine, but as small or smaller than a merlin.

Unknown said...

Many thanks for the info.Ill certainly keep my eyes open a bit more late afternoon to see if I can get a replay

Goldon Gordon said...

We once saw a Sparrowhawk take a pipistrell in daylight in North Dean just in front of Clay house in the early 1990's