Hi all – I’m new here, thought I’d add a little story for fellow bird lovers – not a finch though.
This little silver eye was found by my sister when was it was still pink & fluffy. A currawong pulled apart a nest high up in our maple tree, flew off with one chick and the other fell to the ground. We weren’t sure what it was a first, and thought it might be a wren so we reared it on mashed up mealworms and a few vitamins and minerals later we added lorikeet mix & fruit when it turn out to be silvereye. It was full of character - very smart, bossy, loved scratches just as much as a cockatoo and would cuddle up to your neck for a sleep. Grandma accidentally let it out but I’m not too worried as there was a local mob to join, the hormones were kicking in and it was a very skill fossicker/hunter.
Silvereyes love scratches too!
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desertbirds
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- Posts: 1318
- Joined: 21 Nov 2010, 09:13
- Location: Alice Springs
Thats cool, thanks for sharing that pic, i had no idea silvereyes would bond like that. 
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west finch
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- Joined: 22 Feb 2011, 11:24
- Location: tamworth
love it 
Work smarter not harder !
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Mortisha
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- Posts: 333
- Joined: 05 Nov 2011, 11:05
- Location: Bathurst, NSW
Honestly, I'd would get tired of giving scratches way before he was sick of it. Such a tiny bird - i'd get finger & hand cramps!
Ended up using a matchstick as it was easier on my hands.
Silvereyes must be very tactile with each other in flocks. He would groom all the other birds in the aviary if they let him.
The button quails and the orange breasted waxbill use to benefit everyday. He use to regularly to pull on the cockatiel tails for the reaction I'm sure.
He also LOVED piles of spiderweb & horse hair to fashion into a nest.
Very difficult to photograph though when he wasn't sitting to get a pat. Always moving at 100km.
Here is an example of the nest - second attempt. Includes my horse's tail & mane hair from the brushes. Stripped grass all woven together with spider web.
Honestly, birds just amaze me. Such a tiny creatures so full of life and complexity
Ended up using a matchstick as it was easier on my hands.
Silvereyes must be very tactile with each other in flocks. He would groom all the other birds in the aviary if they let him.
The button quails and the orange breasted waxbill use to benefit everyday. He use to regularly to pull on the cockatiel tails for the reaction I'm sure.
He also LOVED piles of spiderweb & horse hair to fashion into a nest.
Very difficult to photograph though when he wasn't sitting to get a pat. Always moving at 100km.
Here is an example of the nest - second attempt. Includes my horse's tail & mane hair from the brushes. Stripped grass all woven together with spider web.
Honestly, birds just amaze me. Such a tiny creatures so full of life and complexity
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Canary
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- Posts: 474
- Joined: 24 Aug 2011, 20:04
- Location: Sydney West, NSW
Love this post and it brought back so many memories of when I was much younger.
We used to have a small orchard of peach trees and also some grape vines and the silvereyes loved nesting in them. There would sometimes be two nesting in the same peach tree. I used to try and find all the nests, and often didn't until the chicks had hatched and started calling for food, the nests were that well blended into the leaves and branches.
The parents were great as I would often be climbing up a ladder to look in the nests and the parents never deserted the chicks.
The other flashback I just had was of the Eastern Rosellas nesting in the corner fence posts. The parents would always fly off before you got near the nest, when they had eggs or chicks, and in those days we always had one Eastern Rosella in a parrot cage that was usually hand raised, and would learn to talk and wolf whistle.
Thanks for the memories. I am thinking what a great childhood I had.
We used to have a small orchard of peach trees and also some grape vines and the silvereyes loved nesting in them. There would sometimes be two nesting in the same peach tree. I used to try and find all the nests, and often didn't until the chicks had hatched and started calling for food, the nests were that well blended into the leaves and branches.
The parents were great as I would often be climbing up a ladder to look in the nests and the parents never deserted the chicks.
The other flashback I just had was of the Eastern Rosellas nesting in the corner fence posts. The parents would always fly off before you got near the nest, when they had eggs or chicks, and in those days we always had one Eastern Rosella in a parrot cage that was usually hand raised, and would learn to talk and wolf whistle.
Thanks for the memories. I am thinking what a great childhood I had.
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monotwine
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- Posts: 352
- Joined: 15 Jun 2010, 20:36
- Location: Cape Town, South Africa
- Location: South Africa
Too cute. I had a one-legged one rescued from a cat. They have such little personalities and they are mad about bonding.
I know one lady here used to own a pet shop. Everyone took orphaned birds to her. She let them all go once they were independent, but one little silver eye (or our white-eye as we know them) would always come back when she called. It would give a cuddle, come for a scratch and then was off again. Really cool to see.
I know one lady here used to own a pet shop. Everyone took orphaned birds to her. She let them all go once they were independent, but one little silver eye (or our white-eye as we know them) would always come back when she called. It would give a cuddle, come for a scratch and then was off again. Really cool to see.
Monique