This Great Egret must have been out feeding in the close marsh.  The mate could have been protecting the nest site.

I say this because the bird had no nesting materials.

Unlike Herons the Egret is not usually greeted warmly by a mate. In fact they tend to fight a bit during the early nesting.

What that means is a bird really shouldn’t return with no ‘gift’.

It doesn’t go over very well.