I’ve seen lots of Great Egrets (Ardea alba) over the past couple of years, but until recently I had never seen a juvenile one and had no idea that they were so small compared to the adults.
I caught this little interaction between what I assume is a mother and a young egret at Cameron Run, a tributary of the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia. The birds were standing on one of a number of concrete slabs that cross the entire width of the stream, presumably to slow down the flow of the water.
UPDATE: A number of more experienced birders have weighed in and pointed out that the smaller egret is not a juvenile Great Egret as I thought, but is instead a Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), a species that I had never seen before. As a result, the scenario below that I imagined is no longer valid—I’ll have to think a bit more about what herons of two different species might have been discussing.
The mother seemed to be giving instructions to the young one to stay put while she flies off to fish a short distance away.

Mom gets a bit excited as she warns the little one to stay put

The little one finally agrees
The mother eventually is reassured and takes off for the rocky edge of the water, hoping for a quick catch, so that she can feed the hungry youngster.

Flying away for a little while

Searching for the perfect spot for fishing
The young egret is left all alone to wait for the return of his Mom, hopefully with a tasty snack.

Waiting for Mom
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
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