The Circle of Life

[kgarrett11]

The other day while I was at the Alligator Farm, I saw something that I didn't know goes on in the bird world. An adult egret attacked two chicks in a nearby nest while the chicks parents weren't there. I don't know what caused the attack but the result was two injured chicks that eventually fell out of the nest. These aren't the best I have ever taken but they get the story across.

This is the adult with her own chick.
http://kgarrett.smugmug.com/photos/543307184_dKd7j-L.jpg

Then she moves to the neighboring nest and starts the attack.

http://kgarrett.smugmug.com/photos/543306816_iaTUE-L.jpg

http://kgarrett.smugmug.com/photos/543306959_3XU5D-L.jpg

http://kgarrett.smugmug.com/photos/543306969_cW64w-L.jpg

I'm not sure if her own chick is surprised but seems to be very interested in what is happening.

http://kgarrett.smugmug.com/photos/543307144_yRBfL-L.jpg

http://kgarrett.smugmug.com/photos/543306954_9rtUy-L.jpg

The young ones are starting to show the effects of the attack.

http://kgarrett.smugmug.com/photos/543307245_VcAMR-L.jpg

http://kgarrett.smugmug.com/photos/543307199_Bbb36-L.jpg

[bfjr]

Hard for us Humans to understand behavior like that.

Suffice it to say that it happens for varied reasons, everything
from competition to retaliation.

Interesting series, makes me think on it.

[kgarrett11]

Hard for us Humans to understand behavior like that.

Suffice it to say that it happens for varied reasons, everything
from competition to retaliation.

Interesting series, makes me think on it.

It was just strange to see. I know that it happens in some parts of the animal kingdom. I watched two chicks trying to push a third chick out of the nest and that goes on all of the time. But it's just hard to adult birds doing it to non-offspring.

[Harryb]

Interesting behavorial series Keith. Great egrets are highly aggressive birds even when food is not a factor.