Viridor

Profile Picture and Leg Ring Combination Code

• Blue
• Red
• Yellow

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:

June 2013: Viridor loves the water channel and she has a bath nearly every day.   She is a lone bird, her sibling egg being left in a German nest for her parents to rear, so she may well have a German brother or sister out there on the continent.  She was originally ringed with cable ties Blue Green, but a more visible leg-ring combination became available, Blue Red Yellow - which she will be ringed on release - so some of the photos may be confusing! July 2013: She has been named and championed by Viridor Waste Management.  It is the landfill tax money, provided by Viridor Waste Management to Viridor Credits Environmental Company, that has been supporting the project from the very start.  January 2014: Viridor was released in mid September and quickly integrated with the older birds, spending the autumn foraging with the flock on West Sedgemoor, along the Stoke St. Gregory ridge, and the winter on splashy pasture land on Stanmoor near the village of Stoke St. Gregory. The deep and prolonged flooding that affected the Levels and Moors through December and January does not seem to have had much of an effect on the new cohorts' welfare or integration.  January 2015: Viridor spent all of 2014 as an integral part of the non-breeding and non-moulting flock on the Levels and Moors and towards the tail end of the year was frequently seen feeding in with a group on Southlake and Aller Moors to the west of Langport.  July 2015: The spring of 2015 saw Viridor remain part of the non-breeding flock on the moors, spending a lot of time on Northmoor (Aller), Northmoor near East Lyng and West Sedgemoor.  February 2016: Viridor spent all the autumn and winter of 2015/16 on the Somerset Levels and Moors spending time in the main flock largely on Wetmoor, Aller moor, and West Sedgemoor.  She is not yet obviously paired with any particular bird - but this could all change over the next few weeks....    July 16: Remained in Somerset but there is no evidence of either pairing or nest preparation this season.   Nov 17:  Remained in Somerset and seen with the flock but there is no evidence of either pairing or nesting this season.  Has returned to the flock for the winter.   Sept 18:   Seen with Jasper in fields on West Sedgemoor throughout April.  Incubation started 22nd April, with hatching on 25th May producing one or two chicks.  The pair only had 1 chick by July – with the chick ringed and radio tagged on the 19th July – and nicknamed ‘Javi’.   After successfully fledging the family were seen on Aller moor on the 9th August.    Sept 2019:  Viridor was observed on Whitmoor with Jasper and their 2018 juvenile (Javi) with the flock on 26th January.  They were on their West Sedgemoor territory in February/March and Incubation on 1st nest started on 22nd March but failed on 3rd April – cause unknown. Incubation on second nest started 28th April .  Two chicks were hatched on 26th May and both chicks were ringed and radio tagged on 11th July. One of the chicks went missing on 27th July and was found dead on the 30th – cause unknown.  The remaining chick (nicknamed Veejay) fledged in August but was then found dead at the end of August.  Jasper and Viridor were both observed with the flock at this time.   2020: Observed on 8th March with Jasper on West Sedgemoor in their usual territory nest building and again on 17th.  The pair were still feeding together on 22nd March, but incubating on 23rd.  The attempt failed at the egg stage – cause unknown.   The pair have been observed regularly with the flock on West Sedgemoor during the Autumn.    Sept 2021:  Viridor and Jasper were on territory on West Sedgemoor, Somerset early in the year and observed incubating on 25th April.  On 22nd May they were observed off the nest but without chicks.  No further breeding attempt was observed and they were seen with the flock on West Sedgemoor in September.  Autumn 2022: :  Viridor and Jasper were on territory on West Sedgemoor, Somerset Levels and Moors early in the year and observed incubating on 4th May.  This attempt failed after 13 days, cause unknown.  No further attempts were observed.  The pair have remained on West Sedgemoor during the Autumn.                              

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Photos of Viridor

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