In comparison to the Red Goshawk, of which I now know of more than thirty breeding pairs on Cape York Peninsula alone, this bird is very secretive, and I am sure many pairs have gone unnoticed because they will frequently let you walk right beneath them without moving.

Over the past ten years a concerted effort has been put into locating breeding pairs for filming, and once one knows the way of this rare bird, it becomes easier to search for them, knowing what to look for. I believe there are many more than first thought, but they will still elude many who search for them, because most pairs live in remote locations on Cape York and may never be discovered. Without doubt they are contenders for some of Australia’s rarest birds.

The Grey Falcon is a very different bird indeed, because it lives chiefly in the arid parts of inland Australia of which there is so much, how could we possibly know just how many there are? I do not think any one could begin to estimate the numbers of this unique and beautiful bird of the heart land of Australia.

Most times that Grey Falcons are encountered there is two birds. This falcon seems to spend much of its time with its partner, even out of season when they have no need to keep in contact. There has been observations of a pair of Grey Falcons just appearing out of the desert haze, flying low over the dunes then disappearing just as quick never to be seen in that location again. You think back later and question whether you actually saw them at all because the encounter was so brief.

There is much we do not know about this bird, and during the many years I have spent searching for them, my encounter with this ghost of the desert have been few indeed.

In the late 1990’s I began an intense search for a pair for filming as it was the only Australian raptor that I had not filmed at the nest. Three six thousand kilometer journeys were to pass through the inland deserts of western Queensland, western New South Wales and northern South Australia. All locations where the Falcons had been seen in the past were visited, with no sign of a Grey Falcon to be seen any where.

Then one morning around 8am while camped in the Strezlecki Creek in north western South Australia, my luck changed. This was a known location where a pair had been found breeding many years previous, and for the past three days this Coolabah creek had been searched for kilometers in every direction with no sign of the Falcons.

As I approached a Pair of Little Eagles which had been calling in this spot every morning, a shadow appeared on the ground from above, there was no alarm calls from small birds which is typical when a predator is about, but I was in for a delightful surprise. As I looked up there it was a Grey Falcon, it was perched no more than fifty meters away. Such a long time had lapsed since I had seen my last one, that I just about had to pinch myself to see if it was real.

The next thing was, would it stay long enough for me to grab the camera or would it fly as soon as I moved, well it stayed perched and only moved after I had filmed it for a while when I tried to get closer to get full frame footage. Having designed a high powered lens I was still able to get nice head and shoulder shots from more than forty meters away, as what I believed was a male by its small size, began preening.

It stayed for a while then saw some thing off in the distance, and left the perch with a sudden burst of acceleration. It was a reminder of just how fast this spectacular bird is. Within seconds it was flying through the tree’s at tremendous speed till it was out of sight.

Even though an extended search was made over the next few days, that was the last time that he was to be seen. It was in their breeding season, September, so no doubt his mate was brooding eggs some where along this creek line, maybe more than twenty kilometers away. Like all Falcons, Grey Falcons do not build their own nest, instead they use old corvids or other deserted birds of preys nests.

Twelve months later I had just arrived back home from a very successful trip on Cape York filming a pair of Red Goshawks at the nest with small young, when I received a phone call from a friend who had just visited a pair of Grey Falcons nesting in western Queensland. Could this be real after all this time, the thought of filming two of Australia’s rarest birds of prey in one year was to much to comprehend.

I have enjoyed access to many private properties over the years because I do not believe in divulging a breeding location, for two reasons- one – most property owners do not like the intrusion of their properties because of stock or gates being left open.

And - two - coming from the land myself I understand the problems associated with public access to private properties, because if one person leaves a gate open or interfere with Stock it places a bad taste in the owners mouth for any body else who wishes to have access. That is the main reason why some times the best conservation stratergy is out of sight out of mind.

After assuring the property owner that I would never give out the location without the families permission I was granted access.

Even though I had just arrived home, there was no decision to make, I was packing and heading west within hours. I arrived at the owners house about twenty four hours later, and it turned out that we had known about each other for many years, because he was into wild life as well. What a great start.

It was not long before my wife Junell and I followed the owner out to the spot where the Falcons were nesting. On our approach I could see both birds perched lower down in the tree, about two meters below an old corvids nest with a well developed chick standing on the nest, we were just in time.

What a sight I had only dreamt about what this moment would be like, there are no words that are adequate to describe the feeling and gratitude I owed so many for such an opportunity.

It took no encouragement to get the camera out and start filming this magical bird. The next few days were full of excitement, the birds totally excepted our presence, so long as we moved slowly and did not startle them. The female spent most of her time perched in or close by to the nest tree, where she could keep an eye on the chick, while the male was off hunting. Every now and again she would look out into the distance, bob her head a few times, then fly out in the direction where her attention was focused.

It was pretty obvious that she had seen the male coming with food long before we did. In the distance we could see her meet the male where they briefly came together then parted, a food pass had just been made. When the female came back to the nest, she was closely accompanied by the smaller male, he landed in a nearby tree as she stooped up to the nest to land next to the chick, who was begging loudly.

During our filming period of a few days here it was quite obvious how strong the bond was between the pair as they were together as much as possible.

He would perch close by until she had finished feeding the chick, then join her where ever she landed after leaving the nest. When the male was ready to go hunting, he would preen himself for a short while then bob his head up and down then take off. Some times he would just fly off in a straight line, and other times he immediately began circling till he was so high that you could barely see him, then with a sudden burst of power off into the horizon.

Often he was only away for half an hour or so, and other times for as long as four and a half hours, before returning with prey. Prey items ranged from Pippits, Little Woodswallows, White Plumed Honey-Eaters to birds like Black Faced Cuckoo-Shrike’s and Crested Pigeons, All of which were partially plucked when brought to the nest.

On the last evening of filming near the nest, a small shower of rain just before sundown brought hundreds of insects out, mostly flying ants which rose vertically upwards for a hundred meters or so into the air.

The pair of Falcons appeared to enjoy the new source of protein even though it was small, and spent nearly an hour just after sun down in pursute of a meal as they crossed the evening sky in high speed rolling over and snatching them with their talons.

What a way to finish the day, one I shall never forget.