Of the 20 egrets that returned to the rookery this year, this couple arrived first and chose a prime spot up against the old cypress tree. He is the most handsome of the egrets with his golden tail feathers and he struts around as though he knows it.
However, he is a rascal and a lazy one at that. He steals the sticks from the other birds nests to bring to his lady and he also sits in the water under the nests to catch the sticks that the other birds drop. He does not go out and hunt like the others.
I hope when the chicks are hatched that he is willing to hunt for food to feed them.