The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #5
We’ve just been on a brief trip to one of my favourite places. It’s Matera, in the south of Italy. It’s the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city, with 12,000 year old Stone-Age remains on the cliffs below a Medieval city below a modern city.
One the rooftops nest 6,000 Lesser Kestrels. Here’s what they look like:
I’m sure that male was winking at me.
Here’s the story of when I first saw them:
And how I fell in love with them:
How we found a nest at eye level in a wall in a busy street:
And some of my favourite shots:
This week I’ll mainly be blogging about Lesser Kestrels. We booked a room in the ancient heart of the city with incredible views from a terrace so we could watch them at close hand. It turned out to be yet another incredible wildlife experience.
I can’t wait to share it with you.
More Lesser Kestrels in Matera
Falco naumanni We're in Matera to see the Lesser Kestrels. We've booked the room in the hotel which has three small terraces… read more
Yes, we’re in Matera again We are in the oldest continuously inhabited city on Earth, Matera in Basilicata in the south of Italy. It's possible… read more
2019 highlights of a wilder Italian life My Italian life in 2019 started in January with a whale of a murmuration with a raptor on its tail.… read more
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #10 When a Lesser Kestrel lands on a wire outside our bedroom window I know what I want to do. I… read more
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #9 There are Lesser Kestrels before breakfast, Lesser Kestrels on the way to breakfast, a break from Lesser Kestrels for breakfast… read more
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #8 It's five o'clock in the morning and she's calling immediately outside our window. I think she wants her mate. The… read more
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #7 We're having close encounters of the wildlife kind: There are Lesser Kestrels all over Matera. I'm sure the locals must… read more
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #6 Matera. Just look at it. Isn't it magnificent? What a city! The ancient heart of the stone city of Matera… read more
Lesser Kestrels on the rooftops We're on a residential street in the middle of a city. In a wall there's a hole in the stonework… read more