Vulture cliffs of the Jonte, Verdon and Ossau
Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), cinereous vulture, Egyptian vulture, bearded vulture. Cévennes / Grands Causses, Verdon, Pyrenees, France.
Best time: 1 Mar – 31 Jul (March to July). Where: Maison des Vautours, Le Truel (Gorges de la Jonte), Gorges du Verdon (Rougon / Point Sublime), Falaise aux Vautours, Aste-Béon (Vallée d'Ossau) (France). Time of day: Griffons leave the ledges once thermals build, from about 10:00, and skim the rim in the afternoon updraught until 17:00.
- You can go on your own
- Low cost
- Binoculars essential
- Sound 3/5
Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.
When is the best time?
Peak: 1 Mar – 31 Jul. March–July (chicks on the ledges); vultures present all year
Active from 1 Jan to 31 Dec (all year) in a typical year.
Time of day
Griffons leave the ledges once thermals build, from about 10:00, and skim the rim in the afternoon updraught until 17:00; ledge colony calls from first light before departure. Maison des Vautours has daytime hours (check).
- Ledge colony: sunrise → 09:00
- Thermals and rim passes: 10:00 → 17:00
What will you hear?
Wing-rush of griffons passing a few metres over the rim, hissing and grunting from the colony ledges, chough flocks and the river below; more a sight than a sound.
Binoculars?
Binoculars essential. Griffons skim the rim at a few metres but the ledges are 200 m+ across the gorge; binoculars needed, telescopes at the Maison des Vautours.
Where to go
- Maison des Vautours, Le Truel (Gorges de la Jonte) — Interpretation centre with terrace and telescopes facing the colony; open Easter to November. Map
- Gorges du Verdon (Rougon / Point Sublime) — Reintroduced colony; tourist road noise in summer. Map
- Falaise aux Vautours, Aste-Béon (Vallée d'Ossau) — Pyrenean colony with a visitor centre and live cameras. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Gorges de la Jonte: the D996 lay-bys and the rim paths above Le Truel are free; the Maison des Vautours terrace is ticketed (Easter–Nov). Verdon: free viewpoints at Point Sublime and the Rougon road. Ossau: the Falaise aux Vautours centre at Aste-Béon (ticketed) or the free village road.
Cost: Free from roads and paths; Maison des Vautours and Falaise aux Vautours centres charge (check current prices).
Field-recording notes
Vultures are silent in flight; the material is the ledge colony (long shotgun or parabola from the rim) and the wing-rush of birds skimming the cliff edge in the afternoon updraft. Cévennes core zone: no drones, no climbing on colony cliffs (seasonal bans), and feeding stations are managed by the LPO.
Sources
Similar spectacles
Griffon cliffs: Hoces del Duratón, Hoces del Riaza and MonfragüeA griffon colony settling at dusk is a surprisingly loud thing: hisses, grunts and cackles from hundreds of birds squabbling over ledges, the rush of wings passing at head height, choughs and alpine swifts along the wall and, after dark in winter, eagle owls hooting across the gorge.
Griffon vultures on the sea cliffs of CresHissing and grunting at the ledges, the wind-rip of 2.7 m wings passing low over a boat, chick begging; shags and yellow-legged gulls beneath, cicadas and scops owl in the maquis behind.
Griffon vultures of the Bosa coast, SardiniaMostly visual: Italy's largest griffon colony riding the updraughts of volcanic sea cliffs. Sound is the Mediterranean swell under the cliffs, the wing-rush of birds passing close, hissing at the ledges, blue rock thrush and, in summer, Eleonora's falcons chattering along the coast.
Douro Internacional: griffon and Egyptian vultures on the canyon wallsMostly visual, but the canyon is a natural reverb chamber: griffon wing-rush as they pass the viewpoint at eye level, hissing and grunting at the nests carrying across the gorge, alpine swifts screaming along the walls, blue rock thrush and the river far below.
Marmots, ibex and vultures, Hohe TauernMarmot alarm whistles bouncing between glacier-polished walls, chough flocks, ibex hoof-clatter, the wing-rush of a griffon passing at 20 m, ptarmigan; glacier streams and cowbells below.
Bearded vultures and golden eagles of the EngadinSilence and wind — the recording is of the alpine air, chough flocks, marmots and the occasional whoosh of a 2.8 m wingspan overhead; the visual spectacle is the point.
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