JUVENILES LEARN TO DANCE

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve made several trips to farm country, and I’ve been lucky to see and photograph the Sandhill Crane family with their two juveniles, also known as colts.

Unhappy with my presence, the family huddled so tightly, it was difficult to identify the tangle of long legs.  The juvenile on the right was noticeably smaller than the other on the left.  Probably a female, I thought.

I hung back and let the cranes get used to me, and I was rewarded with a beautiful scene.  They spread out individually, with the two juveniles in the middle, against a beautiful meadow as a back drop.

Suddenly, they came together in a tight bunch again.  I love this image because all of the cranes' eyes are visible.  The size differential between the two colts is also apparent here.

The two juveniles were busy at work preening themselves, completely ignoring the herd of livestock behind them.

And then the magic began.  Without any warning, the cranes began ruffling their back wing feathers and began performing a dancing display.  Dancing is most common during the breeding season, but cranes can dance all year long.

Dancing is also done to hasten the education of the young.  It looks fun and is another way these beautiful creatures play.  But dancing also establishes social relationships, announces territorial claims, and cements decades-long pair bonding.  One of the juveniles is really into the dancing, while the second one hangs back, barely ruffling its feathers.

Family dancing usually begins the summer after young cranes are born.  They watch their parents display, and their prowess in dance improves with practice.  Here the parents and one juvenile continue the dance with wing flapping, one of their more common dance steps.

This adult crane is very skilled at dancing, and she is magnificent as she stretches her wings, bows, and leaps into the air.  Notice the graceful placement of her legs.

I was losing light fast that evening, compromising my image quality, and finally had to call an end to my photography.  I was lucky to get off one last tender shot of this young colt still ruffling its feathers against its mother.