White storks bill-clattering on the Chellah walls, Rabat

White stork (Ciconia ciconia). Rabat (also Marrakech, Meknès, Fès), Morocco.

Best time: 1 Feb – 30 Apr (February to April). Where: Chellah necropolis, Rabat, El Badi Palace, Marrakech, Meknès – Bab Mansour & city walls (Morocco). Time of day: Late afternoon into the last hour of light, when pairs greet each other at the nest.

• You can go on your own
• Low cost
• No binoculars needed
• 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 Feb – 30 Apr. February to April — nest-building, pair displays and the loudest clattering; chicks in May

Active from 1 Jan to 30 Jun (January to June) in a typical year.

Time of day

Late afternoon into the last hour of light, when pairs greet each other at the nest; also the first hour after sunrise before the city wakes

• Dawn greeting: sunrise → 1 h after sunrise
• Evening greeting: 2 h before sunset → sunset

What will you hear?

Dozens of pairs bill-clattering with heads thrown back on the minaret and the medieval walls, wings thumping on landing, and below them the cattle egret roost and the Bou Regreg valley.

Binoculars?

No binoculars needed. Storks clatter on the minaret and walls above the road; naked eye.

Where to go

• Chellah necropolis, Rabat — Colony on the ruined zawiya minaret, the walls and the trees; a UNESCO site with an entrance fee and daytime hours (closes before sunset), so the evening chorus is heard from the road outside the walls. Map
• El Badi Palace, Marrakech — Stork nests along the red walls; entrance fee, daytime only; the medina noise is substantial. Map
• Meknès – Bab Mansour & city walls — Nests on the ramparts around the old city. Map

How to go on your own, and what it costs

Rabat tram to the Chellah stop; the necropolis has an entrance fee and daytime hours, but the storks are heard and seen free from the road and gardens outside the walls, including the dusk chorus after closing.

Cost: Free from outside; Chellah entry 70 MAD adult (120 MAD with audio guide), 30 MAD children 7–14, under 7 free, 50% off for Moroccans and residents (2026).

Free or no-guide alternative: Stand on the public road below the outer wall (Avenue Al Marsa side) or in the gardens outside the gate at last light: the whole colony clatters overhead without a ticket.

Field-recording notes

This is a city recording: traffic on the Chellah road, the tram, calls to prayer (which can be a feature), and a stream of visitors inside the site in the afternoon. The clattering is impulsive and loud — meters set for peaks, not for the ambience. The site opens mid-morning and closes around dusk, so the roost calls at last light are taken from the gardens outside. No access to the walls or minaret; nests are protected. Winter: a growing share of Moroccan storks no longer migrate, so some pairs are on nests by December.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Chellah (stork colony, UNESCO)

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More: all spectacles in Morocco · storks · stork, heron and flamingo colonies · Morocco in February · Morocco in March · Morocco in April