Hi all,
I rescued a very small honeyeater from a spiderweb in my garden this morning. The orb weavers in this area are pretty big this year and the webs are very tough.
The bird was tiny. It was grey/brown with a very long curved beak and lighter tan colouring on the chest. It also had reddy coloured eyes but no other markings on the head. We have a lot of eastern spinebills and I was wondering if this could be a juvenile, or is it likely to be something else?
Hi Kathy - thats a very tiny bird or a very big web!!!!
I think you are right with the Eastern Spinebill - the young birds are much tanner and don't have that really definite bib like the adults.
I remember when I lived in Sydney years ago the thick yellow webs of the orb weavers. They were very thick and very strong and would easily hold a small bird if it became tangled. Ray
Hi Ray, nice to hear from you again, hope you are well!!!
M-L
Hi there,
Thanks for the replies. Yep one tiny bird, and one big scary web! I had to run warm water over it's feet and one of it's wings to loosen the webs wound over it. They were so strong and sticky it was unable to unclench it's toes or spread it's wing. I was a bit worried about doing this because it was so tiny and I thought the shock may kill it, but all's well that ends well.
Kathy