Eleonora's falcon colonies
Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae). Sardinia (San Pietro), Pelagie Islands, Italy.
Best time: 20 Aug – 10 Oct (August to October). Where: Oasi LIPU Carloforte – Capo Sandalo, Isola di San Pietro, Isola di Lampedusa (Riserva Naturale) (Italy). Time of day: Adults hunt out to sea from first light.
- You can go on your own
- Free
- 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: 20 Aug – 10 Oct. Late Aug to early Oct (chicks in the nest, adults hunting migrants at sea)
Active from 15 Jul to 31 Oct (July to October) in a typical year.
Time of day
Adults hunt out to sea from first light; colony calling is strongest from about 2 h after sunrise to 11:00 and again from 16:00 to sunset when birds return with prey.
- Morning colony: 1 h after sunrise → 11:00
- Afternoon return: 16:00 → sunset
What will you hear?
Harsh 'kya-kya' calls from dozens of falcons over sea cliffs, chicks begging, the surf below; a visual spectacle with a lean soundtrack.
Binoculars?
Binoculars essential. Falcons hunt over sea cliffs 100 m+ below the viewpoint; binoculars needed, a scope shows the ledges.
Where to go
- Oasi LIPU Carloforte – Capo Sandalo, Isola di San Pietro — Italy's largest colony on the west cliffs; LIPU viewpoint. Map
- Isola di Lampedusa (Riserva Naturale) — Southern colony on the sea cliffs. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Capo Sandalo: drive the road west from Carloforte to the lighthouse car park; the LIPU viewpoint and cliff path are free. Lampedusa: the western cliffs (Albero Sole) by the public road and paths — the falcon colonies are on the sea cliffs below.
Cost: Free; Carloforte ferry from €4.50 (Portovesme) / €4.00 (Calasetta) per passenger (Delcomar, tariff in force since 2024).
Field-recording notes
The birds breed late to feed chicks on autumn migrants, so the colony is at full pitch when most seabirds have gone. Cliff-top wind is constant; the LIPU viewpoint at Capo Sandalo is the sanctioned spot. Protected species — no approaching the ledges.
Sources
Similar spectacles
Eleonora's falcons hunting migrants off EssaouiraHigh 'kyah-kyah' alarm and contact calls carrying across 1 km of water from the colony (over 1,200 nests counted in 2016 — one of the largest in the world), and the surf and gull colony beneath.
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.
Lesser kestrel colonies of TrujilloA colony of small falcons chattering — the 'chay-chay-chay' and trilling of dozens of lesser kestrels over the bullring roof, swifts screaming through the Plaza Mayor, storks clattering on the church towers and the market noise of an Extremaduran town beneath it.
White-tailed eagles: Smøla, Lofoten and the TrollfjordThe eagle's yelping 'klee-klee-klee' duet from a nest crag, wing-rush of a 2.4 m bird taking a fish 10 m from the boat, gull and tern colonies, otters whistling in the skerries.
Vulture cliffs of the Jonte, Verdon and OssauWing-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.
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.
More: all spectacles in Italy · birds of prey · Italy in August · Italy in September · Italy in October