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Movements and Genetics of Grey Falcons |
| Falco hypoleucos Gould, 1841. |
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A project by Jonny Schoenjahn Perth, Western Australia. |
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This site was created 30 May 2004. Last update: 25 January 2012. |
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Adult Grey Falcon Falco hypoleucos. Photo © Gary Porter. |
| The Grey Falcon is one of Australia's rarest birds of prey, and no doubt its least studied. One of the reasons for that deficiency is the remoteness of the Grey Falcon's preferred habitat together with the species' scarcity, making data collection slow and tedious. The Australia-wide study ‘Movements and Genetics of Grey Falcons’ commenced in 2004 and is aiming to increase our knowledge of the ecology and biology of the species. It focuses on long- and short-term movements and on determining the genetic variation residing within the population as a whole. The former data may assist in estimating the population size, which in turn is the basis to assess the conservation status for the species. The genetic variation is a measure of the capability of the species to respond to environmental threats and changes. |
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Adult Grey Falcon Falco hypoleucos. Photo © Chris Field. |
| In July 2007 the first free-flying Grey Falcon could be captured, a male. The bird was weighed (419 gram), measured etc., and released. A very encouraging break-through for the study no doubt. |
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The first free-flying Grey Falcon ever captured, July 2007. Photo © Jonny Schoenjahn. |
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Note that the whitish tips of the two older central tail feathers have worn off, only the shafts are left. Photo © Jonny Schoenjahn. |
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The bird was banded with one metal band on each lower leg, both bands of the colour 'metal' (see bottom of this page). The bands are well visible, in flight and when the bird is perched.
Since then, a further eight individuals where marked, including two that were fitted with a solar-powered satellite transmitter. The bird below is the male partner of a breeding pair; it was captured and tagged on 9 October 2010 while their two young were near fledging age. In 2011, the same male again was the partner of a pair breeding in the same nest. The position data generated by the satellite transmitters will greatly help to understand the ecology of the Grey Falcon by assessing home range size, movements between breeding seasons, nest site choice and much more. |
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Adult male Grey Falcon with a 12 gram solar-powered satellite transmitter (North Star Science and Technology), 9 October 2010. Photo © Jonny Schoenjahn. |
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Although a tremendous improvement, the sample size still is very small. The main challenge for the fieldwork remains the task to find the birds, and in particular to locate active nests. Clearly this project would not be possible without the wonderful help of many people kindly reporting their observations to me.
This project is not possible without the help of you! Please keep sending in your records. Information will be kept strictly confidential.
Cheers, |
| Download a Record Report Form |
| If you experience difficulties with this page or have any comments or suggestions, or a photograph of a Grey Falcon which could be included here, please send me an e-mail. |
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| Colour-band combinations used in this study. |
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This Web site is © Copyright 2004-2012, and owned by Jonny Schoenjahn Perth, Western Australia T: (08) 9385 9939 E: jonnybird@bigpond.com |