SNACK TIME...

… at the Venice Rookery.  With lucky timing, just after we arrived, the father egret flew in with a mouthful of snacks for the voracious chicks.  He relieved the mother who was babysitting while he was gone.  They put up a lot of chatter:

Mom:  “Where have you been?  What took you so long?  I’ve been sitting here f-o-r-ever!” 

Dad:  “Quit complaining.  I’ll feed the kids now.  Get some rest so you can take the next round.”

On Flickr is the sequence of the father flying in, then the babysitter mom flying away, then the impatient chicks nipping at dad’s beak to be fed.   Also on Flicker is a different egret family with the chick under another mom’s outstretched wing.  (It seems the Flickr reversed the order of the flight sequence, so it's backward.  Oh well..)

Egrets have the beautiful long silky plumes during the breading season.  It was a fun day at the Rookery with lots of activity.