Lesser kestrel colonies in the Sassi of Matera
Lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni). Matera, Basilicata; Alta Murgia, Puglia, Italy.
Best time: 1 May – 30 Jun (May to June). Where: Sassi di Matera, Gravina in Puglia old town (Italy). Time of day: Pre-roost flights over the Sassi in the last 90 min before sunset, densest in the final 30 min.
- You can go on your own
- Free
- Binoculars helpful
- Sound 4/5
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 May – 30 Jun. May–June (chicks calling; evening screaming flights)
Active from 10 Mar to 15 Aug (March to August) in a typical year.
Time of day
Pre-roost flights over the Sassi in the last 90 min before sunset, densest in the final 30 min; a quieter bout of colony activity in the first 2 h after sunrise.
- Evening pre-roost: 90 min before sunset → last light
- Morning colony: sunrise → 2 h after sunrise
What will you hear?
Hundreds of chattering 'che-che-che' kestrels wheeling over the roofs of a UNESCO old town at dusk, with swifts, jackdaws and church bells.
Binoculars?
Binoculars helpful. Hundreds wheel over the roofs at dusk; binoculars from the Murgia rim across the gorge.
Where to go
- Sassi di Matera — Europe's largest urban colony (over a thousand pairs at its peak, now declining as roofs are restored). Best from the Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio or the Murgia rim opposite. Map
- Gravina in Puglia old town — Similar cliff-and-roof colony, fewer tourists. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Matera: stand at the Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio (Piazzetta Pascoli) at dusk, or drive to the Murgia Timone car park in the Parco della Murgia Materana and walk to the belvedere opposite the Sassi — all free. Gravina in Puglia: the old town streets and the Ponte Acquedotto viewpoint.
Cost: Free.
Field-recording notes
Tourism noise in Matera is heavy in the evening; the Murgia Timone side across the gorge gives the colony at distance with a quiet background. Nests are under roof tiles — no rooftop access. Protected species (Birds Directive Annex I).
Sources
Similar spectacles
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.
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