Rescuing and Drawing Little Critters That Find Themselves in Trouble....

Part of being an illustrator requires research so out and about I go with sketch book in hand plus camera. At times I seem to be in the right place at the right time and find I need to rescue a little critter or two…

This little waxeye (or silvereye) was found slightly dazed, sunburnt, dehydrated, and distraught. We popped it into a little dark box to give it some quiet and rest while we went about and found the food it needed to survive. We mushed up a little apple, and pear as it has a great source of moisture to revive any little waxeye that has been sitting out in the heat too long.

New fledglings normally hide in the undergrowth while the parent bird goes about finding food. If the parent bird dies along the way, or loses the whereabouts of the fledgling, the juvenile will mostly come out and sit in the open, which makes them easy prey. 

Quite a bit earlier we had rescued a tiny sparrow that fell from its nest from high up a pine tree. The sparrow had only started to develop pin feathers. Right from the start it thought we were going to eat it, but we persevered and managed to get the sparrow to fledgling stage and into the aviary for flight training, feeding and food sourcing. This is also to get the bird(s) to fly back for food top-ups once free in the wild.

Once the waxeye had gained a bit of weight and could fly up to the perches it could then join the sparrow in the aviary full-time. And they, overtime, became very good friends. Lovely to see. In the end they had free access to the aviary and flew back for meals, mostly together, when they couldn't find enough themselves. Their visits stopped over time as they steadily became expert food finders. 

At the time of the little waxeye rescue I was studying the intricacies of a pine cone for an illustration I was doing and the little waxeye fitted right in to the story.