A DANCING CRANE

 

I drove on my regular two-track in farm country to see if my cranes were there.  I was in luck. My two regulars were there, plus a second pair. 

 

 The second pair was noisily vocalizing in their unison call, affirming their pair solidarity.  I think the male is on the left and the female on the right.

 

Suddenly, the female began to display, throwing out her huge wings and continuing her call.

 

 The female jumped into the air and both birds continued their rattle, although the male seemed less vocal.

 

The female went higher still, really into her display.  The male watched, somewhat standoffish from his mate.

 

 The female started a second sequence of jumps, vocalizing loudly.  The male continued to watch, but appeared unaffected by her moves.  

 Up she went again one more time.  And the male just watched.

She came down and looked at her mate who once again didn’t react.  What was going on here, I guessed she wondered.

Finally, she turned away and ruffled her feathers.  This is a common action after dancing to dispel dust and feather dander.

Finally, a reaction from the male as he ruffled his feathers too.  It was interesting to watch these two interact...or not...but who knows what was really going on between them.