Griffon vultures of the Bosa coast, Sardinia
Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) — 104 territorial pairs in the Bosano, 516–566 birds in Sardinia (2025); golden eagle, Bonelli's eagle, peregrine, Eleonora's falcon on the coast in summer, blue rock thrush. Capo Marrargiu – Bosa – Alghero coast, Oristano/Sassari, Sardinia, Italy.
Best time: 1 Feb – 30 Jun (February to June). Where: Capo Marrargiu, Torre Argentina (coast road SP49 Bosa–Alghero), Bosa Marina (Italy). Time of day: Birds leave the cliffs 1–2 h after sunrise when the sea breeze and thermals start, soar along the coast road all day and return in the 2 h before sunset.
- You can go on your own
- Free
- Binoculars helpful
- Sound 2/5
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 Feb – 30 Jun. February to June: incubation and chicks on the sea cliffs, most birds in the air on spring thermals; griffons are resident and the cliffs are busy all year
Active from 1 Jan to 31 Dec (all year) in a typical year.
Time of day
Birds leave the cliffs 1–2 h after sunrise when the sea breeze and thermals start, soar along the coast road all day and return in the 2 h before sunset; the coast road lay-bys are best in the afternoon when the cliffs are lit.
- Departures and soaring: 1 h after sunrise → 12:00
- Return to the cliffs: 150 min before sunset → sunset
What will you hear?
Mostly 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.
Binoculars?
Binoculars helpful. Griffons pass the coast-road viewpoints at eye level; binoculars enough, a scope for nests on Capo Marrargiu.
Where to go
- Capo Marrargiu — Headland reserve north of Bosa (160 ha bought by the Comune as a protected oasis); on foot through the scrub from the coast road, nests on the cape's cliffs. Map
- Torre Argentina (coast road SP49 Bosa–Alghero) — Lay-bys and the tower cove on the panoramic road; griffons cruise the cliff edge at road height. Map
- Bosa Marina — Town beach and harbour; birds overhead on the way to the Temo valley. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Drive the SP49 panoramic road north from Bosa Marina towards Alghero and stop at the lay-bys around Torre Argentina and Capo Marrargiu; footpaths lead through the macchia to the cape (stay on the paths, the cliffs are a reserve). Free, open at all hours.
Cost: Free.
Field-recording notes
The SP49 coast road is quiet outside July–August; the lay-bys are exposed to the maestrale — a westerly makes recording useless and keeps the birds up. The LIFE projects (Under Griffon Wings, Safe for Vultures) run feeding stations and monitoring; keep off the cape's nesting cliffs (reserve), no drones, no approaching nests. Forestry and hunting (wild boar, autumn–winter) in the hinterland.
Sources
- LIFE Under Griffon Wings – Sardinian griffon population and colony sites (Bosa, Capo Marargiu, Porto Tangone)
- L'Unione Sarda – 2025 census: 104 pairs in the Bosano, 516–566 griffons in Sardinia
- Sardegna Turismo – Capo Marrargiu
Similar spectacles
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.
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.
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.
Hooded vultures of the Kombo coast — Africa's densest population at the fish beaches and abattoirsMostly silent birds in enormous numbers: the hiss and thin squealing at a carcass or fish-gut pile, the clatter of 200 pairs of wings lifting at once when a dog runs through, the thud of landings in the kapok roost at dusk. The real soundscape is the fish beach itself — pirogue crews, drying racks, gulls, kites and the vultures' shuffle. A phenomenon that no longer exists anywhere else in the species' range.
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