Kia

Profile Picture and Leg Ring Combination Code

• White
• Blue
• Black

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:

January 2015: White Blue Black (Kia) is small, and follows the costumed carers well - She's a good egg!  She is the sibling of Blue Yellow Black.  She has been fitted with a back-packed mounted GPS data logger, to record her every move. She has remained one of the smallest of this year’s birds - a dainty, petite crane. She was named KIA by the King Ina Academy in Somerton.  She has remained with the main flock over the winter months spending most of the time on Aller moor and Southlake Moor to the west of Langport. July 2015: Kia has spent the spring and summer mainly feeding on Northmoor (Aller) and Northmoor near East Lyng, and roosting most of the time on West Sedgemoor.  The whole non-breeding flock appear to be thriving on the Levels and Moors this year. February 2016: Kia spent a rather unremarkable  autumn and winter of 2015/16 on the Somerset Levels and Moors spending time in a flock that fed on the whole across Wetmoor, Aller moor, and West Sedgemoor. She is likely to remain as part of the non-breeding flock through the coming Spring and Summer.  July16: All the birds in this cohort are 2 years old and too young to breed so there were no nesting attempts. They have been in Somerset as far as can be ascertained but difficult to find and identify during the breeding season.  Nov 17:  Remained in Somerset throughout the year.   Sept 18:  Kia was not observed during the breeding season.   Sept 2019:  Kia remained at Slimbridge over winter and in March was observed with Chocolo – Tamsin’s mate.  In May they were still acting as a pair but there was no breeding attempt.  They were observed still together in late August.   2020:    Kia paired with Chocolo and bred within the WWT Slimbridge Reserve, hatching 1 chick.  Sadly this was predated after 3 weeks.  The pair have been observed regularly at WWT Slimbridge during the Autumn.   Sept 2021:  The pair observed together and apart on W Sedgemoor and at Slimbridge in January and February.  Observed at Slimbridge in March.  Kia experienced some difficulties shedding her GPS mounted backpack during early Spring but by the end of March it was gone.   No breeding attempt was observed.    Autumn 2022:   Kia and Chocolo remained at Slimbridge during the winter and began incubation towards the end of April.  They hatched 2 chicks on 25th May but had lost one of them by 2nd June.  Their surviving chick was successfully fledged.  There was some confusion over whether or not there were actually two nests and the second was successful. The evidence is not clear.

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Photos of Kia

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