All this talk of Grey Falcons has prompted me to share a couple of the most
thrilling observations I've had of this spectacular bird between Mildura and
the SA border in Victoria back in the 1980s.
Following the first exhilarating observation which I wrote up in the
Australian Bird Watcher (1988), I subsequently found a roost tree of a pair
and then later on a nest tree. The most surprising feature of these birds
was their incredibly confiding nature which enabled me to happily use up
several rolls of film and have many hours of enjoyable observations on
different days. When at the roost, the falcons rarely stirred up any avian
passions but as soon as they moved, even from one tree to another nearby,
many of the other birds in the area would kick up a hell of a fuss (similar
to that when the Square-tailed Kite is on the prowl). So, it was always
easy to track the birds' comings and goings.
On one of the observational stints, I was given a right royal display of
superb flying. The pair sometimes in tandem (head-to-tail) and sometimes
side by side would descend from a great height and skim, literally
centimetres above the Murray River, for half a kilometre or more upstream at
top speed and then ascend abruptly, again at great speed, peeling off in one
direction or another and chasing each other across the sky, cackling loudly
at times! The performance was repeated several times and was truly
breath-taking!
On another occasion, a Peregrine Falcon which was leisurely heading
downstream at about twice canopy height, apparently provoked one of the Grey
Falcons with its presence and found itself being vigorously pursued at full
throttle until it had left the vicinity!
I have in recent years returned to this part of Victoria - now called the
Scroll Belt Bioregion - to sample the avifauna for a baseline study of the
bioregion and much to my dismay have found that literally hundreds if not
thousands of the trees (River Red Gum and Black Box) are dead or dying!
There is one section in particular west of Lake Walla Walla which simply
looks like a petrified forest! One wonders what it's going to take for the
politicians to actually get off their butts and do something rather than
have endless rounds of talk-fests and pass-the-buck sessions!
All the best,
Charlie
Charles Silveira
Melbourne
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