liyinglouphotography.
(To strengthen the bond, Red-crowned Cranes engage in dual honking rituals before performing a dance. In order to let people feel their humming when looking at the photos, I rushed to the shooting site at dawn. On the eighth attempt ( on the eighth day), I finally captured the call that we could see. ( when they called, the heat they emitted vaporize in the cold air)
This image won a Bird Behaviour Highly commended award in the 2020 Bird Photographer of the Year Contest.
(One of the most beautiful places to observe Red-crowned Cranes in winter, the Otowa bridge at 4:30 am it packed with people, and it was really cold when it was below zero with intense humidity. We had to wait for sunrise, wait for the heat of the sun to atomize the icy water, creating a magical image...)
I have heard of the Red-crowned Crane since my childhood. They are very special birds. Their beautiful depictions are considered crane in ancient Chinese cultural legends. They date back as far as the Zhou Dynasty. They are birds of the sky, immortal cavalry raised by immortals who come from the sky and return to the sky. They are a symbol of elegance, loyalty, longevity and wealth. They are very beautiful, elegant, pure and wise, monogamous for life. During their breeding period, they have developed very complex mating rituals, including dances and Tweets. My dream was to meet them one day.
I've read reports about this species; Hunted almost to extinction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Only 20 pairs are found on the northernmost Island of Hokkaido.
It's just unthinkable to me, how could those people kill them? They are spiritual birds. They're elegant, they're romantic. Fortunately, starting in 1935, in a small remote village, locals took action to help the species (known to the Japanese as Tancho), feeding the surviving Cranes with corn and fish to help them survive the harsh annual winter.
At the end of February 2018, I finally had the chance to see and photograph them. I spent two weeks in Hokkaido and stayed more than 8 days among them. There were three feeding points in the village of Tsurui, Red-crowned Crane came here every day to look for food and left one after another after one or two hours, flew to the surrounding fields to rest. I wanted to photograph them in the real wild, so I asked local photographers, and they provided me with several spots where Red-crowned Crane often congregate. The Red-crowned Crane there were very relaxed, and I could see them hunting and playing, liking and displeasing, happy and frustrated. during the breeding season, they performed the nuptial dance; first of all, one party sent an invitation to dance to the other party, and the other party accepted the dance if interested. A lot of participants did not dance long and left.
I saw a few Cranes left the dance shortly after entering the grounds, and the male Red-crowned Crane was very frustrated each time. But he kept searching and kept waving at the other part with his bow gesture. My heart ached for him...Finally a female Red-crowned Crane had found him to her liking. They danced until the end of the ritual. I very joyfully documented the whole process with my camera. They were dancing side by side, face to face, looking at each other, eyes never leaving each other's eyes, They spread their wings 2.5 meters long, which was super magnificent, swaying back and forth, side to side, they crouched, bowed to each other and raised their wings. the small red spot on the crown of the head was the exposed red skin, which looked redder in excitement. They are created a choreographer so complex and vivid that I couldn't take my eyes off them, their slender dancing legs were full of charm and their graceful movements were like a ballet.
After a long continuous dance, the pair of Red-crowned Crane raised their heads and chimed in unison to express their love for each other. They passed through the troop of Red-crowned Crane in full view and then the two flew away together...
Yes, what was shown in front of me was obviously a ballet duo scene.
It reminded me that many choreographers of humans were inspired by the dance steps of birds。Nature has paid too much vitality and wisdom to human beings, how can we destroy the balance of nature for our own greedy desires? We, humans should seek to coexist with nature，birds and other creatures。
Unfortunately, when I saw reports of Red-crowned Crane on National Geography, it showed that the species could no longer be sustained due to the shrinking wetland area where it breeds；The red-crowned crane is the second-rarest crane in the world—second only to the whooping crane in North America. It is an endangered species, with only 1,830 adults in the world and dropping. The most obvious reason is loss of habitat, as the wetlands where these cranes’ breeding grounds are shrinking and are now often too small to sustain the species。 It's heartbreaking to know that.
Later, I was very lucky to photograph a pair of Red-crowned Crane mating, I hope they can continue to reproduce from generation to generation, forever. . .
Here I present you some pictures of this elegant bird...
during their courtship dance, both male and female perform dance displays including arching, bowing and leaping...
They raised their heads and chimed in unison to express their love for each other.
They raised their heads and chimed in unison to express their love for each other.
Later, I was very lucky to photograph a pair of red-crowned cranes mating, and I hope they can continue to reproduce from generation to generation, forever. . .
Info：
(Threats to survival
The red-crowned crane is the second-rarest crane in the world—second only to the whooping crane in North America. It is an endangered species, with only 1,830 adults in the world and dropping. The most obvious reason is loss of habitat, as the wetlands where these cranes’ breeding grounds are shrinking and are now often too small to sustain the species.(NatGeo))
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/red-crowned-crane#:~:text=Threats%20to%20survival&text=It%20is%20an%20endangered%20species,in%20the%20world%20and%20dropping.
UN Climate Change News
Wetlands include some of the most carbon-dense ecosystems in our planet, such as salt marshes, sea grass beds and mangroves. Peatlands, that account for just 3% of the world’s land surface, store twice as much carbon as forests, playing a pivotal role in delivering global commitments on climate change, sustainable development and biodiversity. Wetlands also help reduce disaster risk, as they mitigate floods and protect coastlines.
Despite their essential role in global climate regulation, wetlands remain undervalued by policy and decision-makers in national plans. Approximately 35% of the world’s wetlands were lost between 1970-2015 and the loss rate is accelerating annually since 2000.
Losses have been driven by megatrends such as climate change, population increase, urbanization, particularly of coastal zones and river deltas, and changing consumption patterns that have all fueled changes to land and water use and to agriculture.
https://unfccc.int/news/wetlands-disappearing-three-times-faster-than-forests
red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane (traditional Chinese: 丹頂鶴，is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cranes in the world. In some parts of its range, it is known as a symbol of luck, longevity, and fidelity. Red-crowned Crane are distributed in northeast China, Japan and southeast Siberia: wintering in Korea and eastern China. Japan has only Hokkaido Red-crowned Cranes, and they are non-migratory birds. The Red-crowned Crane is a large-scaled wading bird in the crane family, with a body length of 120-160 cm. She is slim and elegant, and her color is black and white. She is named after the crown of red skin on her head. They live in swampy areas and shallow ponds and feed mainly on shallow water fish and shrimp, molluscs and some plant roots.The Red-crowned Crane's chirping is very loud, which serves as a signal to clarify its territory and is also an important means of communication during estrus. to clarify its territory and is also an important means of communication during estrus.
Breeding
In the spring and summer, the migratory populations of the red-crowned crane breed in Siberia (eastern Russia), north-eastern China and occasionally in north-eastern Mongolia。
The population of red-crowned cranes in Japan is mostly non-migratory, with the race in Hokkaido moving only 150 km (93 mi) to its wintering grounds. Only the mainland population experiences a long-distance migration. They leave their wintering grounds in spring by February and are established on territories by April. In fall, they leave their breeding territories in October and November, with the migration fully over by mid-December.
Adult red-crowned cranes moult twice a year, changing into summer feathers in spring and winter feathers in autumn. The annual breeding season starts in March and lasts for 6 months, ending in September. They build their nests in shallow water or wetlands with water, and the nest materials are mostly gramineous plants such as reeds. Red-crowned cranes lay a clutch of eggs every year, generally 2-4 eggs. Incubation is carried out by male and female birds in turn, and the incubation period is 31 to 32 days.WIKIPEDIA。
Comments