According to what I’ve read, cranes pair up to nest and raise young. Nonetheless, the Wrenaissance wetlands host a trio of them this year, apparently a cozy little odd-numbered family. They banded together one evening to chase off a fourth crane who landed nearby. I think of them as the menage a trois of the wetlands.
Wednesday morning they wandered into the yard, and I was able to get these pictures from inside the patio door. The slide sequence shows what I think is a courtship dance. Note the extremely lack of interest by both [presumed] females.
{ 21 comments }
larry – too funny! we want to see the pictures
Unfortunately,I get that kind of reaction when I dance too.Nice slide photos!
Mark – right place, right time. Can’t beat that!
con – Would you believe I didn’t even know about the cranes when we bought the house? talk about your freebies!
mon@rch – they have really eerie voices. The geese must be jealous!
mary – it’s my joy, and it’s even more a joy to share
mary – i’m late to work more often than I want to admit
poet – I would be sympathetic to his frustration, but I have a feeling nature is going to win out in the long run. I’m just hoping I’m lucky enough to see the babe when it arrives.
kathie – not heaven, but certainly my refuge from the world. This spring has been special. Y’all come visit!
Cranes dancing in your backyard? Are you in heaven? Can I come?
how magnificent to watch that, but all that wasted effort on the male’s part…
Wren,
If I lived in a house with your view, I’d NEVER make it work. Seriously. This was wonderful and I thank you for sharing.
Mary
Really nice little slide show. How great to get to see this in your yard! Wow!
Cool little slideshow thing! I had Sandhills nesting up in Michigan when I was there one spring! They are such amazing birds and I love to hear them vocalize!
Great slideshow, wren. How I envy you with the cranes nearby. Beautiful!
I am completely jealous of this opportunity Wren. Must have been a complete joy to witness.
dave – I’ve seen them much more this year than in the past. It’s been fascinating to watch them.
seabrooke – I’m looking forward to what they do next. I’ll let you know what that is.
Oh, how neat! I’ve never seen cranes during breeding season, much less dancing. Much less in my backyard! Great view from your patio!
Wow. I have never seen cranes dance. What a treat for you – and us!
tom – it’s great fun watching them. I miss them when I look out back and there are no cranes in sight.
Wren- How cool to have displaying sandhill cranes in your backyard. Spectacular!
Tom
vicki – I admire your persistence in commenting. The view is pretty great right now, and will only be improved by the rest of the snow melting.
bruce – It’s pretty amazing to get to watch them up close. I wonder what I’m missing when I’m not here?
sandpiper – we love the view, too
lana – I hope the ‘hard to get’ doesn’t translate into ‘no baby cranes this year’
robin – Glad you enjoyed. I’m glad I was able to capture some of the motion even though this camera doesn’t have a video option
That is quite a slide show, wren. I don’t know how you embedded such a thing, but it’s grand. It has an elegance that matches the beauty of the cranes’ movements. That is truly a delightful vision outside your door.
Wow…very cool! I love the way they’re “hard to get.” *LOL*
What a beautiful ballet! I envy your location.
LOL@ all his wasted efforts on those two gals. But he really is magnificent. How lucky you were to see this and get all these terrific photos!
You are in such a fine place for birding these next couple of months, Wren. This is a very wonderful series of photos of these Sandhills. That’s the same dance we always saw in the wetlands behind the cottage north of Dexter- definitely courtship. How funny that the girls don’t seem all that smitten. That’s Ann Arbor for you.
I am pretty envious of your back door view right now…
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