Henriette Brasseur
About the Image(s)
From April to early June the Snowy Egrets arrive, find a mate, create a nesting site and lay their eggs. At first the young are fed by their parents but after a time, the parent makes the juvenile chase after her/him to get the food. The juvenile latches their beak onto the parents beak and food is regurgitated from the parent into the juvenile’s mouth. The parent will often go to the edge of a branch thereby encouraging the hungry juveniles to go after the food source. The purpose of this is not only to feed the juvenile but to develop their muscles because the juveniles cannot fly unless their muscles are well developed. There is a high mortality rate among juveniles from eggs falling out of nests, juveniles falling out of nests and predators. Once a juvenile fell out of the nest missing my head from about one foot onto the roadway. I would visit the colony of Snowy Egrets from their arrival to their departure going to the site 2-3 times a week. What an education I got just by observing and the joy it gave me.