LEARNING THEIR LANGUAGE

 

When I lived in Northport, I saw White-Tail Deer near my property on a daily basis.  Over time, I began to understand what their body language meant, the foot stomping and the subtle ear and tail movements.

 

 Now that I’m seeing this Sandhill Crane couple in the same spots when I go to farm country, I’m trying to learn what their nonverbal communications are telling me.  Good friends from Kalamazoo sent me the Sandhill Crane Display Dictionary, and it’s really helping me do that.

 

 I’ve often noticed that one crane will be pecking for food in a field while the other will stand tall a short distance away.  This is the tall-alert language.  When its red crown is expanded beyond its eye, such as here, the crane is signaling some potential threat is present, probably me, in this situation.

 

 All of a sudden the crane lifted its wings as if preparing to chase or attack.  This move can be used to dispel an intruder or move young chicks along the way.  It can be part of the mating ritual too, but that wasn’t the case here, as the crane dropped it wings shortly afterwards.

 

 The pair moved on into the tall grass.  I wondered if they wanted some privacy for their mating.  I was overly hopeful that was going to happen.

 

 With hopes not completely dashed, one crane began ruffling its feathers.  I was hoping this signaled a readiness to mate.  Not so.  The crane was ruffling and feather-oiling as part of its preening process.

 

 Cranes devote much of their time to combing their flight feathers to keep them free from dirt and dust contaminants.  

 

 As the sun was sinking lower into the sky, it outlined the cranes as they emerged from the field.  One was acting a bit unusual with extending it’s long neck pointed skyward.  I’m not sure about the meaning of this move, but it sure was interesting.

 

 As is often the case when photographing cranes near dusk, I was losing light so I decided to head back home.  Luckily, they gave me one last “couples pose” together.