Apparently this type of behavior from Sandhill cranes makes them irresistible to the ladies. Accompany all your jumps with loud ear splitting cries and everyone will fall in love with you.
Actually, these guys are some really neat cranes and they were a great surprise to me when I first came to the mountains in the spring. I am used to seeing them nesting in the winters in Florida where they raise their chicks.
I never knew where they went during the rest of the year, so the first time I heard their call, I knew exactly what I was hearing.
While they are residents of the Platte River, they enjoy a migration to Albuquerque where they have an annual festival. In Florida, we don’t hold a festival for them, but we really should. They are quite remarkable and quirky birds.