2019-04-27 Great Egret chicks battle over leopard frog (video)
Six days after videoing three young Great Egrets in this nest, I returned to find only two. The feeding process is brutal, and it's a wonder that there aren't a lot of one-eyed egrets. For a brief moment the chick with its back to the camera had the frog - but his joy was short-lived as the chick facing the camera immediately grabbed it from him, feet first. It was probably the backwards orientation that kept him from being able to quickly swallow it, and once again, when opportunity presented itself, the original chick quickly snatched it out of the beak and throat of his sibling. It's not over until it's over.
2019-04-27 Great Egret chicks battle over leopard frog (video)
Six days after videoing three young Great Egrets in this nest, I returned to find only two. The feeding process is brutal, and it's a wonder that there aren't a lot of one-eyed egrets. For a brief moment the chick with its back to the camera had the frog - but his joy was short-lived as the chick facing the camera immediately grabbed it from him, feet first. It was probably the backwards orientation that kept him from being able to quickly swallow it, and once again, when opportunity presented itself, the original chick quickly snatched it out of the beak and throat of his sibling. It's not over until it's over.