As those that follow my Flickr photostream will know, this series has been quite awhile getting to ‘publish’ on this Blog.
For a number of years we had the good fortune to work with a pair of Brown Falcon that were domicile in our nearby coastal park. The female in particular became quite tolerant of my presence and we managed to follow several of her clutches. Unfortunately several years back an unfortunate incident occurred and she lost the three fledglings. (Through no fault of her own I must add)
She stayed in the area for a little while, but then departed and I’ve never had the pleasure of working with her since.
Mid of 2025, just as EE was getting ready to attend clinic to fix her ‘fetlock’, I’d noted first one, and then a second Falcon patrolling the nearby paddocks. It didn’t take long to see some fancy team flying techniques, and then he began to turn up with several snake dinners, and amid all the girlish cackling, she must have said in her most polite Brown Falconese, “I Do.”
Then, they seemed to disappear and as EE was now incapacitated our trips out to see what might eventuate dwindled.
One morning I found them sitting together on top of an “umbrella pine”- or parasol pine. A little guessective work and I concluded that he had just provided a meal, And she flew, off behind some trees and out of sight. 😦
I followed along the tree line but she had vanished. But the next bit you can work out —Leaves tree, flys south. Disappears, she must be working on the south side of the tree line.
Next visit.
Suitably equipped with camera and thermos of Earl of Grey’s finest I sat down under a tree to wait. Got distracted badly by a local Collared Sparrowhawk that had also set up nest in the area—but that is another story. Ticky-tocky ticky tocky, time passes. Suddenly she is on top of a tree about 300m down the line. And then off in the far distance the male calling as he comes in. Another snake. She departed to a tree to feed, and again disappeared, but I was getting closer.
Next visit.
I waited on the far side of the treeline, and again, time passed, and then he appeared with yet another snake. (this bird is building an impressive record) She finished the meal and then flew directly to the top of an umbrella pine and disappeared.
Now I was certain of the tree, but… whereabouts was the nest…
Here’s some of the first couple of months.
the male leaving
in behind the tree and caught me by surprise.
By now I was certain she had a clutch on the way
Enjoy
Act #2 is not far away.
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST 
It is so good that you found them, David! Hopefully they will settle in the neighbourhood, not withstanding the feisty neighbour.
A splendid series of images!
I wonder if one or t’other is from one of Cassia’s clutches.
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G’Dave,
I too had wondered about it being one from a previous clutch. It’s the first time there has been a regular pair in the area for over 2 years.
Interestingly enough in the past few weeks we’ve not seen either of them in the area.
Like many raptors, once the season is over they may both disperse. I’m not very confident in the “mate for life” proposition with them.
A pair of Hobbys that are usually in the area didn’t make an appearance at all this season, and Black-shouldered Kites have been few and far between.
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Good things come to those who patiently wait David, and that you did and receive you did. Great captures my friend, and good food transporting shots,
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Hello Ashley,
In the end, we did get a whole lot more than we had ever imagined, so Act #2 must follow 🙂
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Good things come to those who wait patiently David, and they did for you. Great flight shots and feeding shots my friend.
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Glad I’m not the only one that has problems making a comment ‘stick’ in WP.
They really do need to do better.
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It’s been such a pleasure to read the first act of your spectacular story about these Brown Falcons, David. I’d already noticed your full engagement with this family on Flickr, but after reading your blog I had to go back and discover even more of your amazing photos. I haven’t been well for a while, and my concentration clearly hasn’t been the best, because I realised I’d missed several of your posts there. What a journey you’ve had with this raptor family! I’ve had no such luck with the local raptors at Braeside, partly because my visits are infrequent, and partly because so much of the area is inaccessible to people, even during this extremely dry period. It’s also possible that the birds might have moved on, despite rather promising beginnings. Still, your photos and your story make me genuinely happy that there are places around Melbourne where these birds can thrive. Thank you.
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Hi Adam,
Thanks for the note. Sorry to learn that your health has limited your access to photography, as I know how much you enjoy it, and how dedicated you are to making the very best images of the wildlife around you.
Pleased that a trip along the track with these Falcons has bought you some enjoyment and a little relief.
I do hope that your healing comes on speedy wings.
It is an interesting story that develops around the clutch, and as you’ve seen from Flickr there have been some moments that are simply inexplicable.
I’ve been slow to put the story on the Blog, but it really does need the fabled 1,000 words to make sense of it. Flickr has a way of turning the story into a bit of a muddled jigsaw puzzle, so I’m more confident about sharing the details here.
Plenty more to come, so we both can enjoy the time with these amazing creatures.
Go well.
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Lovely to go back to the beginning of the story again and see more of the way it unfolded. And of course, wonderful photographs, as always. Thanks for sharing this great experience with us.
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