Somerset's very own soap opera

The cranes have been VERY busy over the last couple of weeks.

 Tamsin on Timmy - Early March 2014

We have seen some of last year's pairings continuing to flourish, some couples spiltting, some rather 'modern' trios of birds forming, a number of new romances blossoming as well as a good number of fleeting dalliancies. 

Sorting it all out has been a lot of fun  - they have certainly kept us on our toes - and they have been very mobile - turning up all over the place it would seem.

Currently there are three clear pairs in Somerset that we know of.  

Twinkle (a 4 year old female) & Haribo (a 2 year old male)

Mennis (a 4 year old male) & Swampy (a 3 year old female)

Legend (a 3 year old male) & Elle (a 3 year old female)

There are also 3 pairs that we know are behaving as pairs, but are yet to track down....

Gilbert ( a 4 year old male) & Michaela (a 4 year old female).  This pair attempted to breed in 2013

Gerald ( a 3 year old male) & Flash (a 3 year old female) - current whereabouts unknown

Timmy (a 3 year old male) & Tamsin (a 4 year old female)  - current whereabouts unknown

... and there are 2 pairs well established at WWT Slimbridge

Chris (a 4 year old female) and Monty (a four year old male) - currently nest building

Ruby (a 4 year old female) and Bart (a four year old male) - currently nest building

.... and now another 6 birds which may or may not be paired up.....

Sedge, Wendy, Minnie, and Gemma from 2010 (all 4 yrs old) and two males from 2012 (2 yrs old) Phelps and Midnight.

We will be watching them closely over the coming weeks.

About the author

Damon’s role is to act as the hub of the project - making sure everyone involved knows what is going on and that it is all running smoothly. He is also responsible for project community awareness work in Somerset, construction of the release enclosure, and running the post release monitoring work in Somerset.  Damon works alongside the RSPB reserve teams in Somerset.