Falco naumanni
We’re in Matera to see the Lesser Kestrels. We’ve booked the room in the hotel which has three small terraces and the …
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 to walk …
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. Just click …
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 want to …
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 and then Lesser Kestrels after breakfast. In Matera, there are Lesser Kestrels everywhere.
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 tone is …
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 become immune …
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 is where …
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 …
2018 highlights of a wilder Italian life
2018 started for me with a trip to Italy to celebrate my birthday with a trip to remember – a visit to …
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 and we …
The meaning of Sickle
The word falco, from falcon, means sickle. We’re watching Lesser Kestrels hunting in the fields outside Matera. It’s a breathtaking spot: Across …
Grillaio in Matera
The Lesser Kestrel is such a disappointing English name for such a fantastic bird. The Italians call them Grillaio, after their main …
2017 highlights of a wilder Italian life
In 2017 I made many trips to Italy. In February it was Orbetello, staying at the most incredible AirBnB, where we were …
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #4
Photography still includes the principal fields of taking and developing images; it’s just that now they are digital and the development is …
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #3
We’ve already said our goodbyes to the ancient city of Matera when a need for Italian coffee and a sit down overcomes …
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #2
Matera is a city in southern Italy; an ancient city in the heel of Italy’s boot. It has been continuously inhabited since …
The Lesser Kestrels of Matera #1
It was late at night, at a depressing motorway service station somewhere off the M25, and in an anonymous branch of WH …