Gator and Sandhill Cranes 05-20-20 by Lee
“Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.” (Proverbs 4:26 NKJV)
In Backyard Birding – Maybe Part I and Part II, I referred to our gator that hangs out at the edge of our backyard. Here is the video I promised.
The two Sandhills had been on our back lanai and we had shooed them off. They went down to the water at the end of our yard and started teasing the gator. They jumped up a few times and just looked at him. Then they flew across to the other bank, and that is where I captured this on video.
[I thought I knew how to kill parts of the sound, but it killed it all. So I left the sound on. We were eating our breakfast when all of this was occurring. I was sitting in my chair filming this.]
From the following articles, it is obvious that Sandhill Cranes are quite common here in central Florida. They are fun to watch, except when the peck on the back sliding door.
Sandhill Cranes ousidet window Coventry by Lee
“Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.” (Jeremiah 8:7 KJV)
“Sandhill Cranes mate for life, choosing their partners based on dancing displays. Displaying birds stretch their wings, pump their heads, bow, and leap into the air.” [All About Birds – Sand Hill Cranes]
More about Cranes:
Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 
Quite entertaining! Better than Broadway! William
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Entertaining, as long as the gator stays on the other side. 👍
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When I think of animals dancing, I think of the bumblebee’s “waggle dance” which is used by a scout bee, to communicate (to harvester bees) where a food source is located. Remember the Moody Science movie series, with Dr. Irwin Moon — the one I refer to here is CITY OF THE BEES. But now I can think of Sandhill Cranes dancing! Thanks, Lee.
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I’ll keep my dancing cranes rather than dealing with bees. Gators are enough to worry about. Thank you. 🤔🙂👍
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A fun and enlightening video Lee. It is interesting how dance and song performance in particular bird species world wide, makes for the selection of a mate. We see it in the Lyrebird and Bowerbird species. Loved the Sandhill Crane dance. :-)
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That was a great bonus. I was worried about them. They had teased the gator and I was afraid for them.
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It was fun to hear your voice, and I got a kick out of the gator versus bird antics set against the radio broadcast of pandemic issues. Wow! You almost created a stage play of didactic irony here, does the gator represent the coronavirus lurking just out of view? And the cranes, they rejoice and just praise God with dance.
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Never thought of it that way. Yet, it could be. That gator could represent the virus. Unpredictable. :) We were just trying to eat, but I love our view from the table.
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