Yancheng coastal wetlands in Jiangsu province are a key wintering area for red-crowned cranes (Grus japonensis). Current ecological corridor planning has yet to systematically incorporate their behavioral characteristics and habitat preferences, making it difficult to support their dynamic ecological needs. We defined four behavioral contexts based on the seasonal and diel activity patterns of the red-crowned cranes: Autumn daytime foraging, Autumn nighttime roosting, Winter daytime foraging, and Winter nighttime roosting. Under the framework of habitat preferences, we selected six key factors-land cover, vegetation index, water index, night-time light, building height, and road network-and determined their weights by using the analytic hierarchy process. This habitat preferences information was then integrated into a GIS platform to generate standardized ecological surfaces and resistance layers. Based on these ecological surfaces, we applied least-cost path analysis to extract ecological corridors, examine their spatiotemporal differences, and identify conservation priorities. Key findings included: (1) A total of 115 core patches were identified in Yancheng coastal wetlands, from which 38 ecological source areas were selected. Among them, the core zone of Yancheng Wetlands and Rare Bird National Natural Reserve was the most attractive ecological source areas, while other ecological source areas were generally weaker. Nighttime ecological surfaces showed concentrated attraction and pronounced spatial variation. (2) In general, the four types of corridors were distributed around ecological source areas in radial or fan-shaped patterns. The daytime corridors spread farther within the same season, while the nighttime corridors were more concentrated around ecological source areas. The Autumn corridors were broader than the Winter ones. These patterns indicate greater reliance on safety and energy in colder weather. (3) Based on the frequency of spatial overlaps, the ecological corridors were classified into four priority levels: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4. In terms of spatial distribution patterns, Level 1 and 2 corridors demonstrated high temporal consistency and strong stability, whereas Level 3 and 4 corridors were characterized by weaker connectivity and less stable utilization. For typical habitats, reed wetlands and ponds represented the high-priority corridors, whereas coastal artificial wetlands overlapped with less important corridors. This study proposes a corridor identification approach based on behavioral characteristics and habitat preferences, coupled with temporal bird ecological needs to determine protection priorities. The findings not only support the optimization of dynamic conservation networks for red-crowned cranes in Yancheng coastal wetlands but also provide a useful reference for corridor planning and management of other protected species in coastal wetlands.