Another Starling Day

Today started with a walk along the canal at Froghall. We have been craving warm weather and exercise for some time and this was an ideal opportunity to take advantage of the fine sunshine.
Following our walk, we returned via the Kingsley Bird and Falconry Centre (Used to be the Kingsley Animal Sanctuary) http://www.kingsleyfalconry.co.uk/index.html
For years we have been driving past this site and noticing the signs with an intention to look in, but never have. Today we had lunch at the cafe and discussed our starling chick with Melanie who had a wealth of knowledge on the subject. We left feeling that we were doing the best for our little orphan!

During our adventure, the stropy little starling had been left with the freedom to roam in the garage. We had left a saucer of bread, biscuit and berries in the hope that it would feed on its own. Yesterday it was pecking at things and perching a lot. It had disturbed the food, but I doubt if it had eaten any of it.
The first task on our return was to give the little fellow some avian Complan to ensure its protein fix. It was hungry and demanded a good feed. It shakes its head and stamps its feet to demand food. When the food comes, it opens its beak and flutters its wings. Pretty normal behaviour for a starling chick. The chirrups come thick and fast before a feed. Afterwards, it sits quietly, without a movement.
As a treat (Looking after this stray bird gets silly) I had picked some wild raspberries. The bird was quite excited about this fruity treat. I sincerely hope that it will start to feed itself so that we can accelerate its return to the wild as it is now almost adult size.