Eleonora's falcons hunting migrants off Essaouira
Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae). Mogador (Purpuraires) islands, Essaouira, Morocco.
Best time: 15 Aug – 10 Oct (August to October). Where: Essaouira – Skala de la Ville / Bab Doukkala ramparts, Mogador (Purpuraire) islands, Sidi Bouknadel cliffs (Rabat–Kénitra coast) (Morocco). Time of day: First 2 hours after sunrise and the last 2 before sunset, when falcons hunt low over the sea in packs.
- You can go on your own
- Free
- Telescope recommended
- 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: 15 Aug – 10 Oct. Mid August to early October, when chicks are being fed on the autumn passerine passage
Active from 1 May to 31 Oct (May to October) in a typical year.
Time of day
First 2 hours after sunrise and the last 2 before sunset, when falcons hunt low over the sea in packs; middle of the day for the colony's aerial displays
- Morning hunting: sunrise → 2 h after sunrise
- Evening hunting: 2 h before sunset → sunset
What will you hear?
High '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.
Binoculars?
Telescope recommended. The colony is a kilometre offshore from the ramparts; a scope is the only way to watch it, binoculars for falcons hunting the beach.
Where to go
- Essaouira – Skala de la Ville / Bab Doukkala ramparts — Landing on the islands is prohibited outside licensed research (ANEF/GREPOM); the colony is watched with a scope from the town walls and the beach. Map
- Mogador (Purpuraire) islands — The colony itself — off limits. Fishing boats from the port can circle at a distance; ask for no closer than a few hundred metres. Map
- Sidi Bouknadel cliffs (Rabat–Kénitra coast) — A second, smaller mainland cliff colony monitored by GREPOM; road-accessible clifftop, same season. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Essaouira ramparts and the beach are public and free at any hour; the colony is a kilometre away, so bring a scope and a long reach. Fishing boats at the port will circle the islands (agree distance and price on the quay). The Bouknadel cliff colony is on the public clifftop off the Rabat–Kénitra coast road.
Cost: Free from the ramparts (2026); port boat trip — check current prices.
Field-recording notes
Essaouira is the windiest town on the coast — the trade wind is why the kitesurfers are there — and the colony sits a kilometre offshore, so this is a parabolic or long-shotgun job from the ramparts in the first calm hour, or a hydrophone-free boat drift with the engine off. Town noise (gulls, souk, wind in the walls) is heavy; the beach south of the port at first light is the quietest land position. The Bouknadel cliff gives the closer, cleaner falcon voice. No drones anywhere near the islands.
Sources
Similar spectacles
Eleonora's falcon coloniesHarsh 'kya-kya' calls from dozens of falcons over sea cliffs, chicks begging, the surf below; a visual spectacle with a lean soundtrack.
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 in the Sassi of MateraHundreds of chattering 'che-che-che' kestrels wheeling over the roofs of a UNESCO old town at dusk, with swifts, jackdaws and church bells.
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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More: all spectacles in Morocco · birds of prey · August · Morocco in September · Morocco in October