This is a bit of a ritual, even with the Great Egrets. In the bird world mates do bond and almost show affection to each other.
Great Egrets, not so much. In reality these beautiful birds are trouble in rookeries.
These two did greet each other as the male retuned with another stick.
You can see other Egrets in the background here. Rookeries can be as crowded as city apartment houses.
I didn’t know that Great Egrets are the troublemakers in rookeries 🙂 Ted, these are outstanding moments when the male is passing the stick. Amazing photos!!!
Thank you. And yes, Great Egrets are aggressive. All these birds are predators.