These griffins are actually on a spawn cycle that involves the Bixies. So if you want to relive the old days a bit but find East Commonlands devoid of griffins, here's what you do.
You need to go through a short cycle of Bixies spawning. Now it is very probable that you will not find a single Bixie on Track either. This is because the bixies are KOS to Orc pawns and vice versa and when these meet eachother, they fight. The Bixie always looses.
The spawnpoint of the first Bixie in the cycle is around -430 +1200. However I am pretty sure she can have placeholders. Also, once it spawns (or its placeholder) it starts to wander, so you will probably find this spot empty. This is why you have to start laying waste to the zone first. This is actually where the old adagio of "kill everything in zone" comes from when people talk about tactics trying to spawn certain nameds: you are in fact killing a Placeholder that wandered from his spawn-location.
Now keep an eye on that location I mentioned, because after a while (not too long)something will spawn there, hopefully a Bixie. Kill it before an Orc pawn does, though I have no clue wether a player needs to make the kill. After a while, another Bixie spawned at this location and a second one somewhere else. I kept killing lots of other mobs too, just to make room for bixie spawns. Then, after you have killed these two, I noticed a small legion of Bixies spawning near the house of Altunic Jartin, near the far end of the zone connecting to West Commons. At least 6 or 7 spawned in a clump and immediately started wandering. Kill them all, and the next time I looked on track, a griffin had spawned on the loc mentioned above!
A while later, I saw another 4 bixies on track, and killed them. Quit soon after that a second griffin spawned, not on that particular location but more in the middle of the zone and a little more to the North. After that I did not see any new bixies spawn.
I am pretty sure about that Bixie spawn having a placeholder. This is why we do not see more griffins in the zone, since if there were no placeholders, all the bixies would be killed over time by Orc pawns, who would keep the spawn cycle going untill griffins would spawn. I am also pretty sure I saw a large spider spawn on that spot after I killed the first two cycles of bixies. I have no clue wether timing plays a role, in that you need to kill all the bixies fast or some.
Have fun! I sure had for an hour or two. :D