Sandhill cranes anti-gravity walk

Sandhill cranes return to our neck of the woods as the earliest trees break bud, their bills clacking a sound like the clapping of a primitive people's percussion batons. Got to look sharp to see them at 45 mph. Actually, it's often their motion that catches our eye, rather than their appearance. They have an otherworldy, buoyant stride, very deliberate as if they must hang onto the ground with one foot all the time or else they'd float away.