World Bird Wednesday

I went with my friend to get her hair cut and we decided to take the back roads home because, in the past, we have been lucky enough to see Sandhill Cranes in the rural areas.  We were not disappointed.  We spotted a pair of Cranes in a field so I pulled over and got out my camera.  I saw the male throw his head up a few times in a manner that wasn't normal behavior, so I focused my camera on him.  He rewarded me with a beautiful courting dance.  His rhythm was perfect.  You could almost hear Indian drums that he was timing his moves to. 

Most of the courting and mating occurs before they arrive in our area, but this year they all came very early so we were treated to our first experience with it.  What Fun!

I apologize that some of the pictures are not clear ... perhaps his movement, perhaps the distance, but more likely the unsteady hand of the photographer.  But, I had to include them so you could see the rhythm of his dance.

 

You can't see the action, but the female is shaking her tail feathers at him ... 

Note that the coy female has her back to him the whole time ...

The male struts past her ...

    turns around and looks at her like ... Really!  After all that you are going to eat.

   
   She responds ... I have a headache and they go back to business as usual.