Feeding their young is not an easy task for the big wading birds. In the case of Egrets it can be almost brutal.

I call it ‘mugging mommy’.

When adults return to the nest the chicks, really big ones, grab hold of their beaks. In this case two attack and compete for food.

The adult needs to regurgitate the food, above you can see the adult starting the process.

Juveniles squeeze and push to the parents beak to get their share.

The young birds fight for the food, if one of them is not aggressive enough they may starve.

It’s loud and hard, but the strong learn how to survive.