I saw this Great Egret land and expected him to get run off by the occupant of the nest about 8 feet (2 M) above him.

He poked around a bit, and was surprisingly ignored by the Great Egret in the nest.

Suddenly he swooped down to the water…

… and came up with a stick!

After circling around the tree he made a nice landing at the top, delivering the stick to his mate. Turns out he didn’t go far from home for this delivery of nesting material.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 17, 2021