Good stuff John. They may be doing reasonably well in that area at the
moment. Last spring I saw a Grey Falcon nearby along Toona Gate Rd. I
also had a probable Grey Falcon about 5 km east of Cameron's Corner -
between the corner and the Fort Grey campground (where Ground
Cuckoo-shrike was a common campground bird). Interested to see the
photos.
You probably already know this, the person doing the research on Grey
Falcon is Jonny Schoenjahn - see
http://www.users.bigpond.com/jonnybird/greyfalcon.htm, where you can
download a Record Report Form. There's also an identification hints
area, which for the record states: Rule number 1, if you don't see the
bright orange-yellow of the legs / feet, the base of the bill, the cere
and around the eyes, then almost definitely it's not a Grey Falcon; Rule
number 2, if the legs/feet are bright orange-yellow but not the cere,
then it's not a Grey Falcon; Rule number 3, do not rely on the dark
wingtips, they are a misleading, not diagnostic field mark.
Cheers,
Tim
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of John Barkla
Sent: Sunday, 10 May 2009 10:27 PM
To: Birding-Aus
Subject: Grey Falcons
I spent a week in April at Bowra Station near Cunnamulla looking amongst
other things for Grey Falcons. For the second year, I failed to see
one. I
decided to come home (Fitzroy, Melbourne) via Thargomindah, Tibooburra
and
Broken Hill. Flood water on the Bulloo River prevented me from taking
the
route I preferred, so before I reached Tibooburra, I decided to add
Banded
Whiteface to my trip list and detour towards Cameron Corner and Merty
Merty.
On Friday 24 April 2009, as I was pulling into the corner store at
Cameron
Corner, I was delighted to see 2 Grey Falcons circling only about 50
metres
from the ground and only 100 metres from the fuel pumps. I had my
camera
sitting on the spare seat and was able to get 9 photos before they
drifted
off to the south. Sadly the photos are not dead sharp - but they
certainly
confirm the identification. When I excitedly relayed my good fortune to
the
lady behind the counter (whose name I have forgotten) and a group of 7
motor
cyclists and support crew who were out to cross the Simpson Desert, the
lady
pointed out a Birds Australia notice on the wall requesting people to
report
all sightings. She told me she lived there and had never seen one, but
would keep a look out in future.
John
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