Sandhill Crane Shenanigans

 

~SANDHILL CRANES interacting in the black dirt.~

Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to catch up with the two SANDHILL CRANES  that have been spending some time in our area. Not only that, I watched from my car as the two birds interacted for approximately 5 minutes. They were very vocal while this was going on; you can see in nearly every photo, one or both of their bills are open. I did some research on the internet and found out that SACRs mate for life, choosing their partners based on dancing displays. But, the timing doesn’t seem right for this, so I kept looking and found a passage on the National Geographic website that indicated that they “also dance, run, leap high in the air and otherwise cavort around—not only during mating but all year long”.  It was awesome to see it; here are a number of photos from that five minutes.

12 thoughts on “Sandhill Crane Shenanigans”

  2. Outstanding, Matt. I have seen them do their dance but never here. Thanks for photographing them and sharing all of the shots.

  3. Great crane shots and recorded behavior. Had a good day birding at Brig. today–5 wilsons, 1 Hudsonian Godwits, Stilt sandpipers, an adult white ibis, and my first New Jersey white faced. it’s back to school tomorrow.

    1. Thanks Bruce. Good birding for you today, good luck tomorrow. Summer goes by way to quickly. Matt

  6. I’ve seen similar behavior in Florida & always assumed it was courting. Now I know better thanks to your post. Great sequence!

    1. That’s exactly what I would have assumed if the timing had been different. Thanks so much Dave.

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