Howard

Profile Picture and Leg Ring Combination Code

• Yellow
• Blue
• Red

What is this?

Each crane has a unique combination of 3 coloured rings on their right leg. This marking code helps to identify the crane in the wild.

Character profile:

Summer 2010: Howard developed his nickname before sex testing proved him female, and was quite clingy to ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ at first. She soon started to become much more independent and is a very inquisitive and good natured bird.  She became a bit more of a loner in Somerset and some what of a water-baby, often seen feeding or resting in the roosting pool within the pen.  Howard is Wendy's sister.  September 2010: Still quite a loner....and still really liking the water, she spends a lot of time just standing in the pool within the enclosure.  Howard is slightly odd -  perhaps unique would be a better description -but  is never-the-less a beautiful bird.  She is sometimes seen with Minnie's cohort but at times has also turned up along with Clarence's.    She managed to destroy the aerial on her leg-mounted radio tag,  and had it replaced at the end of September. October 2010: Howard has still not made a strong bond with any cohort, but is always seen with one of the groups and has stopped being such a loner. We just need to wait and see who she settles with! November 2010: She has not been located since the evening of November 5th 2010.  The project team are awaiting sightings - but as time goes by it looks more likely that Howard has been lost, and her cause of death remains a mystery. January 2011: On Saturday the 22nd, Howard's I.D. rings and her radio transmitter were found on the edge of a drain that runs across one of the moors. Due to the design of the rings, there is no way they could come off the bird whilst it is alive. So whilst the cause of death is still unknown, but we are now certain that she has died. 

Photos of Howard

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