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Grey Falcon (Falco hypoleucos)

The Grey Falcon is a rare, highly mobile Australian falcon of arid and semi-arid inland areas. On development sites, its main sensitivities are old stick nests in tall trees, wooded watercourses, standing dead trees used as lookouts, and open foraging areas supporting flocking parrots and other granivorous birds.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Vulnerable.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Vulnerable.

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Vulnerable.

Western Australia, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

Timing varies with rainfall and location. The pattern below reflects the documented Pilbara breeding cycle and broader descriptions of winter to late spring breeding, with movement and breeding activity influenced by drought and seasonal conditions.

These are broad planning periods, not a substitute for a pre-clearance inspection. Confirm current occupancy, breeding stage and project conditions before works near mature trees, old stick nests or wooded watercourses.

  • Breeding: Courtship and nest preparation may begin before laying. A Pilbara adult defended a nest by late May, and eggs were laid in mid-July. Breeding is usually described as occurring from winter to late spring.
  • Young: In the Pilbara, chicks hatched in late August, fledged around the end of September and remained associated near the nest for at least three months after fledging. Post-fledging dependence lasts several months.
  • Movement and dispersal: The species is highly mobile and may travel hundreds of kilometres. Immature birds are suspected to winter in northern Australia, and birds may move towards coastal areas during drought. Exact monthly timing is not well documented.
  • Rainfall-linked breeding response: Above-average rainfall in the preceding summer and autumn may encourage breeding by increasing seed-eating prey. Below-average rainfall may discourage breeding or reduce brood size.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing and disturbance are most likely to harm the species from winter through spring when adults are defending nests, eggs are present, nestlings are developing or fledged young remain dependent. Risk may extend into summer where young remain near the nest or drought concentrates birds in refuge areas.

Identification

The Grey Falcon is a medium-sized, pale falcon with long pointed wings and a relatively clean grey and white appearance. It is difficult to identify reliably from distant observations, particularly in inland areas where several other pale raptors occur.

Adults have light grey upperparts, pale grey to white underparts, black tips to the long pointed wings, barred wings and tail, a faint black streak below the eye, and prominent yellow cere, eye-rings and feet.

Length: 30 to 45 cm.

Nestling weights recorded: 390 to 488 g at approximately one month old in two Pilbara broods.

Identification: Similar species

The Grey Goshawk has a similar pale grey colour and yellow cere and feet, but has red eyes without yellow eye-rings, shorter rounded wings and fine chest barring.

The Black-shouldered Kite has red eyes beneath black eyebrows, black wing patches, a white head and tail, and no barring.

Adult male Peregrine Falcons have a more obvious full black helmet. Pale inland Hobbies are smaller and finer, with stronger black head markings and pale rufous underparts. Male Nankeen Kestrels are smaller and finer, with rufous upperparts.

Adult Collared Sparrowhawks and Brown Goshawks have shorter rounded wings, long legs and fine rufous barring below.

Identification: Field signs and sex

Grey Falcons may be detected by an old stick nest in a tall emergent tree, defensive stooping by adults near an active nest, or pellets and prey remains beneath a nest. Recorded pellets averaged 40 by 21.2 mm in the Pilbara study and contained feathers, bones and parrot remains.

Calls were not described in the available field study, so call identification should not be relied on. No species-specific tracks, scats, sloughs or eyeshine signs are documented in the supplied sources.

Sexes are difficult to separate in the field. In one brood, heavier nestlings with longer tarsi were considered likely females, but the sex assignments were not confirmed.

  • Inspect tall trees from a distance before approaching a suspected nest.
  • Record the nest tree species, height, condition, nest type and any defensive behaviour.
  • Treat a suspected Grey Falcon nest as potentially active until an appropriately qualified ecologist confirms otherwise.

Distribution: National range

The Grey Falcon is endemic to Australia, with occasional records from southern New Guinea savannas. It is widely distributed but sparsely recorded across inland Australia, and records in some areas may be confused with Grey Goshawks or other pale raptors.

The species occurs mainly in the arid and semi-arid zones of mainland Australia. Documented range information covers New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

In New South Wales it occurs mainly on the plains of the Murray-Darling Basin, particularly west of the Darling River. Validated records are concentrated inland, while many records from the tablelands and coast are considered likely to be misidentified Grey Goshawks.

  • Relevant inland regions include the Murray-Darling Basin, Channel Country, Lake Eyre drainage, Pilbara, Kimberley and parts of the Murray-Darling Depression.
  • The former range extended farther into the semi-arid sheep-wheat belt, but the breeding range in New South Wales has contracted towards areas receiving less than 250 mm annual rainfall.

Distribution: Strongholds and movement

The Channel Country of south-western Queensland and other rivers of the Lake Eyre drainage are identified as strongholds. The Pilbara and possibly the southern Kimberley are also important areas. The Murray-Darling Basin was formerly more important and may provide drought refuge habitat.

The species is highly mobile. It is treated as a single population in New South Wales because individuals commonly travel hundreds of kilometres. Immature birds are suspected to winter in northern Australia, and birds may disperse towards coastal areas during drought.

Estimated global extent of occurrence: Approximately 4,000,000 km2, with high reliability in the cited assessment.

Estimated global area of occupancy: Approximately 10,000 km2, with low reliability in the cited assessment.

Estimated New South Wales mature population: Approximately 50 to 200 individuals in one assessment.

Earlier Australian population estimate: Approximately 2,000 breeding birds, regarded as a low-reliability estimate.

New South Wales trend: Declining, with reduced reporting rates and a contracted breeding range. The number of birds reported each year varies by a factor of 3 to 4, partly in response to seasonal conditions.

Habitat: Habitat types

Grey Falcons use open inland country with scattered woodland, shrubland or grassland, particularly where mature trees and productive foraging areas occur near watercourses. They are not restricted to permanently flowing rivers and may use dry channels and floodplains.

Key habitats include wooded watercourses, riparian eucalypt woodland, open floodplains, inland woodland, shrubland and grassland in arid and semi-arid regions.

In the Pilbara, two active nests were on a dry river channel in a flat, sparsely vegetated floodplain. The surrounding country was open and heavily grazed during the study.

Habitat: Structural features

Important features include tall emergent live trees for nesting, old stick nests made by crows, ravens or other raptors, standing dead trees for lookout posts, and open ground or low vegetation where prey can be detected and captured.

Riparian eucalypts recorded as nest trees included Coolibah and River Red Gum. The two Pilbara nests were 17 m and 25 m above the ground or river bed.

  • Retain tall live trees, mature riparian eucalypts and standing dead trees where they do not create an unavoidable safety hazard.
  • Retain old corvid and raptor stick nests during clearing and construction planning.
  • Maintain open flight paths around potential nest trees and avoid obstructing access to nearby floodplains and grasslands.

Habitat: Climate and elevation

The supplied sources describe the species by rainfall zone and aridity rather than elevation. Its main range is in arid and semi-arid inland Australia, although it may move into other areas during drought or seasonal conditions.

Rainfall pattern associated with former New South Wales breeding range: Formerly extended within the 500 mm rainfall isohyet, with the current breeding range described as contracted towards the 250 mm isohyet.

Foraging habitat: Diet

Grey Falcons hunt mainly in open country near woodland, watercourses, floodplains and other areas where flocking birds feed on the ground. They are primarily bird specialists, rather than generalist scavengers or seed eaters.

The main prey are flocking, ground-feeding granivorous birds, especially parrots and pigeons. Recorded Pilbara prey included Galahs, Australian Ringnecks and Budgerigars, with other small birds also taken.

The diet also includes small mammals, reptiles and large insects. Pilbara pellets contained grasshoppers and beetles. In agricultural areas, Common Starlings may be taken and can provide a pathway for pesticide contamination.

Birds in a quantified diet study: 93 per cent of recorded diet items.

Insects in the same study: 7 per cent of recorded diet items.

Mean prey weight in the same study: 29 g.

Foraging habitat: Foraging places and behaviour

The species forages over open floodplains, grasslands, sparsely vegetated river channels, woodland edges and other areas supporting ground-feeding birds. It may travel into sandy or stony desert, but is not considered a true waterless-desert specialist.

The Grey Falcon is highly mobile and may travel hundreds of kilometres. Its home range has not been measured, but is likely to exceed 100 km2.

  • Retain feeding habitat around wooded watercourses, stock watering points, floodplains and open woodland where native granivorous birds occur.
  • Avoid removing concentrations of seed-eating birds, mature nest trees and nearby open hunting areas as separate impacts. They function as linked habitat components for this species.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding is associated with tall trees and existing large stick nests, usually in or near riparian woodland. Breeding activity appears sensitive to rainfall, and pairs may abandon territories during drought.

The Grey Falcon usually lays two or three eggs in an old stick nest. In the Pilbara study, two broods each contained three young. The available sources do not provide a confirmed age at first breeding or lifespan.

Typical clutch: Usually two or three eggs.

Recorded brood size: Three young in each of two Pilbara broods.

Laying period: Winter to late spring, with mid-July laying recorded in the Pilbara.

Incubation: Approximately five weeks, or about 35 days.

Nestling period: Approximately six weeks in the Pilbara study; the New South Wales review gives six to seven weeks.

Post-fledging dependence: Several months. Two banded juveniles remained together within 1 km of the nest three months after fledging.

Age at maturity and lifespan: Not stated in the supplied sources.

Breeding habitat: Nest habitat

Grey Falcons typically use an old stick nest built by a crow, raven or another raptor in the top of an emergent live tree in riparian woodland. In the Pilbara, nests were old stick nests, probably built by Torresian Crows, in Coolibah and River Red Gum.

The two active Pilbara nests were approximately 23 km apart. One was 17 m above the river bed and the other was 25 m above the ground. Artificial structures, including telecommunications towers, may occasionally be used.

  • Survey tall emergent trees and existing stick nests before clearing, pruning, scaffolding, blasting, tower work or other noisy activities.
  • Establish a no disturbance area around a suspected active nest based on advice from the project ecologist and relevant approval conditions.
  • Schedule work away from the winter to late spring breeding period where an active nest or dependent young are present.

Sheltering habitat: Roosts and perches

The supplied sources provide little information on dedicated roost sites. They do identify tall trees, standing dead trees and nest structures as important places for perching, breeding and local shelter.

Standing dead trees are used as lookout posts. Tall live trees, especially riparian eucalypts, provide nest platforms and may also provide perching and roosting opportunities.

Nest trees may be reused as breeding territories in successive years, although the same nest is not necessarily reused. In the Pilbara, the 1987 nests were not reused in 1988, despite adults remaining near the sites.

  • Retain standing dead trees where safe to do so, particularly beside open foraging habitat and watercourses.
  • Inspect old stick nests and large trees before removal, even if no bird is visible during the initial inspection.

Sheltering habitat: Drought refuge habitat

Breeding territories may be abandoned during drought. Drought refuges are not permanent and may occur around coastal areas or near the Murray-Darling confluence. The species may also move north or towards coastal areas when conditions deteriorate.

  • Consider nearby mature trees, wooded channels, floodplains and open feeding areas together when assessing habitat loss.
  • Do not assume that a site without a nest is unimportant. Highly mobile adults and immature birds may use it outside the breeding period.

Threats: Clearing and habitat degradation

The main threats are loss and degradation of inland woodland, riparian trees, open feeding habitat and suitable stick nests. Project risks are greatest where clearing removes mature or dead trees, separates nest trees from foraging habitat, or disturbs an active nest.

Clearing in the semi-arid zone reduces foraging habitat, nest trees and food supply. Overgrazing degrades arid and semi-arid habitat and can alter the open vegetation structure used for hunting.

The loss of mature riparian trees and standing dead trees reduces nesting and lookout sites. Clearing and fragmentation are particularly relevant in inland agricultural regions.

  • Map mature riparian eucalypts, standing dead trees, old stick nests and adjacent open foraging habitat before finalising the clearing footprint.
  • Avoid removing nest trees, potential replacement nest trees and standing dead trees where practicable.
  • Retain connected habitat along wooded watercourses and floodplains.

Threats: Drought, nest supply and competition

Drought can reduce prey availability, cause pairs to abandon territories and reduce the supply of suitable nest trees. Failure of crows to breed during prolonged drought may also reduce the number of new stick nests available.

Grey Falcons may compete with Nankeen Kestrels and Brown Falcons for nest sites. Seasonal reporting numbers in New South Wales vary by a factor of 3 to 4.

Threats: Disturbance, pesticides and collisions

Disturbance at an active nest can cause defensive behaviour and may affect breeding. Other documented or potential threats include pesticides, including locust sprays, and collisions with powerlines, fences and wind turbines.

Common Starlings taken in agricultural areas may transfer pesticide contamination to Grey Falcons. The former DDT issue is considered to have been reduced after the ban, but the effects of other pesticides are less certain.

  • Keep people, vehicles and machinery away from active nests and avoid repeated approaches to nest trees.
  • Identify powerlines, fences, towers and turbines near known nest and foraging sites, and apply project-specific collision controls where required.
  • Prevent pesticide drift and manage chemical use near known hunting and nesting habitat.

Threats: Fire and hydrology

The supplied sources do not identify fire as a specific direct threat or provide a fire response for this species. They do show that wooded watercourses, floodplains, rainfall and access to surface water are important parts of its habitat and breeding ecology.

A change to river flow, waterholes, floodplain productivity or riparian tree condition may therefore affect prey and nest habitat, but the species-specific effects are not quantified in the supplied sources.

  • Assess changes to riparian trees, floodplain vegetation, waterholes and seasonal flows where a project alters drainage or water regimes.
  • Do not infer that a dry channel has no habitat value. Both active Pilbara nests in the study were beside a dry river.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat and nest-site assessment

Grey Falcons are rare, mobile raptors of arid and semi-arid Australia. Surveys should focus on wooded watercourses, productive open country, tall nest trees and nearby concentrations of flocking parrots, pigeons and other ground-feeding birds.

Inspect the project area and a suitable surrounding search area for wooded watercourses, floodplains, open grassland, shrubland, standing dead trees and tall emergent trees that could provide lookout posts or nest sites.

Map live and dead trees, old stick nests, waterholes, bores, stock watering points, riparian vegetation and likely flight paths before clearing or construction starts.

Treat large old stick nests in emergent trees as potential Grey Falcon nest sites, even when the nest appears to have been built by a crow, raven or another raptor.

Survey methodology: 2. Diurnal raptor searches and transects

Use slow vehicle or walking transects through and beside suitable habitat, with repeated coverage of open country, river channels, floodplains and water sources.

Conduct searches during daylight when visibility is good and wind, rain, dust or heat haze will not materially reduce detection.

Record every pale falcon, its flight direction, behaviour, perch, habitat and distance from the project area, and confirm identification against similar species such as Grey Goshawk, Peregrine Falcon, Australian Hobby, Brown Falcon and Nankeen Kestrel.

The published Pilbara study used two road transects of 85 kilometres and 70 kilometres, normally surveyed monthly during 1987 and 1988, with each transect taking about 1.25 hours. This is a useful example of repeated coverage, not a universal statutory effort requirement.

Published transect example: Two routes of 85 km and 70 km, about 1.25 hours each, surveyed once per month

Survey methodology: 3. Nest and breeding searches

Search suitable riparian trees and other emergent trees for old stick nests from the ground, using binoculars or a telescope before approaching the tree.

Schedule repeat searches from winter to late spring, when laying and nestling activity may occur, and avoid climbing or approaching a suspected active nest unless authorised and necessary for approved ecological work.

Look for adults defending a nest, repeated flight to a nest, prey remains, whitewash, fresh sticks, vocal activity and fledglings nearby.

The species usually lays two or three eggs, with incubation of about five weeks, a nestling period of six to seven weeks and post-fledging dependence lasting several months.

Typical breeding period: Winter to late spring

Typical clutch: Two or three eggs

Incubation: About five weeks

Nestling period: Six to seven weeks

Post-fledging dependence: Several months

Survey methodology: 4. Survey interpretation and reporting

Do not rule out the species because a short survey produces no records, as it is sparsely distributed, highly mobile and difficult to detect.

Give greater weight to repeated observations, a confirmed nest, adult defence, breeding behaviour, or multiple records near a watercourse than to a single unconfirmed pale raptor record.

Record survey date, start and finish time, weather, visibility, observer names, route or area searched, distance covered, habitat searched, water availability, all raptor observations and any potential nest sites.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use a habitat-led survey design with repeated daylight searches of all suitable watercourses, floodplains, open foraging areas, tall trees and old stick nests that could be affected by the project.
  • Where a project may affect suitable habitat, document the search area, transect lengths, repeat visits, weather and detection limitations rather than reporting only that a survey was completed.
  • Obtain advice from the relevant state or territory environment agency on any current survey guideline, permit condition or species-specific effort requirement before fieldwork.
  • Submit confirmed records, including reliable negative information where requested, to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and the Australian Government biodiversity records system where appropriate.
  • Report any suspected active nest, breeding pair or repeated use of the site to the project ecologist and the relevant regulator before disturbance continues.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise habitat loss

Avoid disturbance to breeding sites and retain the trees, watercourses and open foraging areas that support Grey Falcons. Plan works around the species' mobility, low population size and dependence on old stick nests in tall trees.

Retain wooded watercourses, riparian eucalypts, emergent trees, standing dead trees and old stick nests wherever practicable.

Keep connected routes between nesting trees, water sources and open foraging areas, particularly along rivers, floodplains and other productive areas in arid and semi-arid country.

Avoid clearing mature nest trees and trees supporting old corvid or raptor nests, even if no Grey Falcon is detected during the initial inspection.

Avoid removing dead wood and dead trees near suitable habitat unless the feature is an identified safety risk and the removal has been approved.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and timing

Check whether the proposed action requires referral or approval under the EPBC Act because the Grey Falcon is listed as Vulnerable nationally.

Check the current listing, permit and assessment requirements in every state or territory affected by the project, including requirements for threatened fauna handling, nest disturbance and clearing of native vegetation.

Use the breeding period from winter to late spring as a planning constraint, and allow for several months of post-fledging dependence before disturbing a suspected nesting territory.

Do not assume that a non-breeding season removes all risk, because adults may occupy territories in successive years and territories may be abandoned during drought.

Before habitat disturbance: Pre-clearance planning

Complete a targeted pre-clearance inspection immediately before works, covering all trees, old stick nests, watercourses, water points, open foraging areas and access tracks within the disturbance footprint and nearby retained habitat.

Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies the qualified ecologist, fauna spotter catcher, stop-work authority, wildlife carer or veterinarian, regulator contacts, inspection frequency and release locations.

Mark exclusion zones around suspected active nests, nest trees, watercourses and other retained habitat features before machinery enters the site.

Use exclusion fencing or physical markers where they can be installed without damaging habitat and where they will not obstruct Grey Falcon flight paths or access to water.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and spotter catcher duties

Grey Falcons are unlikely to be captured during ordinary clearing, but disturbance can remove nest trees, disrupt breeding or reduce prey habitat. The spotter catcher must have authority to stop work when a suspected nest or Grey Falcon is found.

Inspect exclusion zones, nest trees, access routes and the work area each day before machinery starts and again after any change in the work footprint.

Position the fauna spotter catcher where the operator can see and act on instructions, and maintain direct communication with machinery operators throughout clearing near retained trees or watercourses.

Keep machinery, vehicles, workers, lighting and unnecessary noise outside marked nest and habitat exclusion areas.

Suspend clearing during poor visibility, dust, heavy rain or other conditions that prevent the spotter catcher from checking trees and open ground safely.

During habitat disturbance: If a Grey Falcon or active nest is found

Stop work immediately within the potential disturbance area if a Grey Falcon, adult defending a nest, dependent fledgling or active nest is found.

Keep people and machinery back, prevent workers from approaching the bird or nest, and obtain advice from the project ecologist and relevant regulator before work resumes.

Do not handle an adult Grey Falcon, chick or egg unless the person is authorised under the applicable permit and the handling is necessary for animal welfare or an approved management action.

Do not relocate a Grey Falcon or its nest as a routine mitigation measure, because relocation can disrupt territorial, breeding and foraging behaviour.

During habitat disturbance: Injured or displaced fauna

If a Grey Falcon is injured, contain it only when safe and when authorised, using a trained wildlife handler and an appropriately ventilated, secure container.

Keep the bird in a quiet, dark place, minimise handling and do not provide food or water unless directed by a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer.

Transfer an injured or orphaned bird promptly to a veterinarian or licensed wildlife carer and record the incident, location, condition, actions and receiving organisation.

If an authorised relocation is required, release the bird into nearby retained habitat selected by the ecologist and regulator, with access to suitable trees, open foraging areas and water.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling and records

Do not fell a tree containing an old stick nest until the ecologist has inspected it and confirmed that it is not an active or recently used Grey Falcon nest.

Retain logs, standing dead trees, riparian trees and other habitat features where they are within the approved disturbance limits and do not present a safety risk.

Record daily inspections, nest status, bird sightings, stop-work events, habitat features removed, injured animals, transfers, releases, photographs, GPS locations and decisions made by the ecologist or regulator.

Treat repeated adult sightings, nest defence, prey delivery, fledglings near a nest or an unexpected bird collision as a reportable environmental incident under the fauna management plan.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance work should confirm that no bird, nest or retained habitat feature was missed and that exclusion and fauna controls remain effective during construction and operation.

Complete an ecologist-led inspection of the cleared footprint, retained trees, old stick nests, watercourses and access areas immediately after clearing and before the next construction stage.

Repeat checks where clearing is staged, where vegetation regrows, or where construction changes access, lighting, noise or the availability of water and prey.

Investigate any new Grey Falcon record, repeated sighting, territorial behaviour or nest construction and apply the stop-work procedure if breeding activity is suspected.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and controls

Monitor retained riparian trees, old nests, standing dead trees, open foraging areas and nearby water sources during the construction period and any approval-specified operational period.

Maintain fencing, signage and nest buffers until the responsible ecologist confirms that the associated risk has ended or the approval allows their removal.

Compare monitoring results with the pre-clearance record, including changes in tree condition, water availability, prey activity, Grey Falcon sightings and use of retained habitat.

After habitat disturbance: Reporting and corrective action

Provide the regulator and project approval holder with records of survey effort, sightings, nest inspections, incidents, injuries, relocations, habitat loss and corrective actions.

Report any suspected breach of an EPBC or state approval, unauthorised nest disturbance, injury or death through the approval's incident process.

Implement approved offsets or other compensatory measures where residual clearing cannot be avoided, with priority given to protecting mature riparian trees, old stick nests, watercourses and connected foraging habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore trees, watercourses and open foraging areas

Rehabilitation should rebuild the habitat structure used by Grey Falcons for nesting, perching, hunting and access to prey. Mature nest trees take many years to develop, so existing suitable trees and old nests should be retained wherever possible.

Protect and revegetate riparian corridors, floodplain edges and other wooded watercourses with locally appropriate native eucalypts and associated native vegetation.

Retain existing mature and emergent trees during rehabilitation, because planted trees will not provide large nest platforms in the short term.

Maintain a mix of open grassland, shrubland and woodland structure that supports flocking parrots, pigeons and other ground-feeding birds without creating dense regrowth across all available hunting areas.

Reinstate natural drainage and watercourse form where construction has altered runoff, erosion or access to water.

Rehabilitation actions: Replace lost nest and perch features

Retain standing dead trees where safe and leave suitable logs and coarse woody material in retained habitat rather than removing them as part of routine site clean-up.

Where an approved plan identifies a shortage of nest sites, assess the use of large artificial nest platforms or nest structures with a Grey Falcon specialist and the relevant regulator before installation.

Do not install nest boxes designed for hollow-nesting birds as a substitute for Grey Falcon nest habitat, because Grey Falcons normally use old stick nests in emergent trees.

Manage planted trees so that future emergent trees can develop along retained watercourses and near suitable open foraging areas.

Rehabilitation actions: Threat and weed management

Control weeds and prevent dense invasive growth from reducing open foraging areas, water access or the quality of riparian vegetation.

Manage grazing, vehicle access and stock watering points so that revegetated banks and young trees are not damaged.

Use fire planning that protects riparian trees, old nests, standing dead trees and developing revegetation, while following the relevant state fire authority requirements.

Avoid broadscale pesticide use near Grey Falcon habitat and use an approved integrated pest management approach, because pesticides and locust sprays may affect raptors through their prey.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

Monitor planted tree survival, recruitment of emergent trees, riparian cover, weed cover, erosion, water availability, standing dead trees and retained nest structures for the period required by the approval.

Use repeat daylight raptor searches to record Grey Falcons, other raptors, prey birds and use of restored watercourses and open foraging areas.

Treat success as retention or development of suitable tall trees and old stick nest opportunities, functioning watercourses, usable open foraging areas, reduced weed and grazing damage, and no unauthorised disturbance to breeding birds.

Submit confirmed Grey Falcon records and relevant monitoring results to the appropriate state or territory wildlife database and report failures against rehabilitation criteria to the approval holder and regulator.

Sources