Wendy

Profile Picture and Leg Ring Combination Code

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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:  Wendy is a fairly low ranking female and the sister of Howard. She was very nervous as a youngster but has now found her place in group and is a good flier. September 2010: Wendy quickly became part of Clarence's cohort and is a close-knit member of this group of five (Wendy, Gilbert, Clarence, Gemma, Michaela) who are also often seen along with Tamsin, Cosmo, Jack, Twinkle and Bart.  Wendy has a distinctive 'Roman nose'. October 2010: Still a core member of the largest cohort. Graceful in flight and always alert and ready to get the group in flight if there is anything which might put them in danger. November 2010: In recent weeks the cranes have all joined forces with Clarence’s group and are now usually moving as a group of 20. Wendy is still good ‘friends’ with Gemma and Clarence, never being far from them. They have found new fields to explore and are often found foraging on maize stubbles which have become Wendy’s new favourite food! January 2011: Wendy has been part of the overwintering flock that formed towards the end of November,  which has remained a tight-knit group throughout the coldest December on record.   The flock is still a single unit and has been most recently feeding around the Aller Moor area. March 2011:  Wendy is still part of the large winter flock and although it is not as tight as it was during the harshest months, she tends to stay within the larger group.  September 2011: Wendy is now one of the most confident and intimidating birds.  She and Clarence were the first two cranes to approach their costumed 'parents' after not seeing them for nearly a year.  She also exhibited aggressive behaviour in the form of threat walks and preens and ruffle threats towards the parents, a sign of dominance over her territory. January 2013: Wendy did nothing out of the ordinary during the whole of 2012 apart from a very brief visit to Slimridge in June - as part of a group of 11 birds.  She soon returned to the Levels however,  where she remained for the rest of the year.  April 2013: Wendy, along with Bart, Gemma, and Cosmo headed up to Slimbridge on April 2nd and after Cosmo left on April 4th she started to build a rudimentary nest with Bart.  It is currently not clear whether Wendy or Gemma is Bart's favourite girl!   May 2013:  It turns out that Bart chose Wendy in the end and was seen mating - but no breeding attempt was made.  August 2013: Wendy returned to Somerset during the summer, leaving Bart at Slimbridge -  but it is not known if she underwent a moult.  Perhaps her bond with Bart was not so strong! January 2014: In the first week of November, Wendy headed back to Slimbridge and has spent the majority of the winter there, along with Ruby, Sedge, Bart, Chris and Monty.   It would appear that Bart is paired with Ruby, and that Wendy is an unpaired bird, but only time will tell. July 2014:  Wendy seemed to form a pair bond with Minnie at Slimbridge in March 2014 and the pair were observed mating, but his affections moved to another 2010 cohort female - Sedge by early April, and Wendy remained as an unpaired female at Slimbridge throughout the Summer.  She disappeared for a while in late June, probably whilst in moult at Slimbridge (We don’t think she moulted in 2013)  and then turned up back in Somerset in mid July 2014.  July 2015: Wendy remained in Somerset for the summer and autumn of 2014, but headed back to Slimbridge in late November.  In early Spring 2015, she formed a pair bond with Minnie (who had formerly appeared to be paired with Sedge) and they nested on the Slimbridge Reserve.  Incubation began in mid April with hatching of 2 chicks in mid May.  One of the chicks died after a week, but the second chick went on to fledge in early August 2015 – One of the first fledged chicks for the project – WELL DONE WENDY!!  July 16: Remained at Slimbridge from the winter onwards and associated with Willow for a while. Paired with Albert and the 1st Incubation started on the Bull Ground area towards the end of April but after a few days the nest was abandoned. There were no subsequent attempts.  Nov 17:  Remained at Slimbridge from the winter onwards and paired with Albert.  Incubation observed on 20th March but the nest was abandoned by the end of the month – cause unknown.  There were no subsequent attempts.  Wendy has remained at Slimbridge.           Sept 18:   Remained at WWT Slimbridge over winter.  Incubation on first nest started around  21/3 One chick observed hatched on 23rd April but was lost by 22nd May.  Reported to be incubating again before 9th June but the nest failed. Both birds observed back with WWT Slimbridge flock in late August.Sept 2019:  Remained at WWT Slimbridge over the winter.  Wendy and Albert’s first incubation started in late March but failed on 27th March – cause unknown.  On 17th May it was reported they were possibly nesting again and on 18th June they were seen with two chicks but by 17th July the chicks were lost, presumed predated. 2020:  Wendy and Albert got as far as building a nest at WWT Slimbridge, but excessive drying out of the nest location due to drought is thought to have caused them to abandon the nest.  No further attempt was observed.  This pair has been observed with the flock at Slimbridge during the Autumn. Sept 2021:  At WWT Slimbridge the pair were observed incubating 2 eggs on 7th April and hatched 2 chicks on 9th May.  Both chicks were lost in early June.  No further attempts were observed and the pair remained at Slimbridge for the summer and in September.     Autumn 2022:  Wendy and Albert remained at WWT Slimbridge over the winter.   The pair were observed incubating on 24th March and hatched 1 chick on 25th April.  The juvenile successfully fledged on 11th July.   The family remain at Slimbridge with a small flock of cranes.                

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Photos of Wendy

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