Every photographer dreams of witnessing something they’ve never seen before.
I was convinced this was my day.
There they were.
A majestic Great Egret.
And a much smaller white bird following closely behind.
I gasped.
“Awwww… a mother and her baby.”
I started mentally writing the Facebook post.
“The devotion of motherhood in the animal kingdom…”
“A lesson in family values…”
“The miracle of nature…”
Then my inner biologist interrupted.
“George…”
“What?”
“Look at the beak.”
I zoomed in.
Wrong color.
“Hmm… maybe juvenile Great Egrets have different-colored bills?”
Nope.
Strike one.
Then I noticed the feet.
Bright yellow.
Strike two.
Then it hit me.
That wasn’t a baby at all.
It was a Snowy Egret.
I’d just mistaken a fully grown adult for someone’s child.
I’m hoping neither bird was aware of this.
That could’ve been embarrassing.
The Great Egret, of course, couldn’t have cared less.
He kept doing what Great Egrets do best.
Standing perfectly still.
Like a feathered yoga instructor.
Meanwhile, the Snowy Egret looked like he’d consumed three espressos and an energy drink.
Running.
Stopping.
Splashing.
Stirring the water with those ridiculous yellow feet.
Dashing left.
Then right.
If Great Egrets are Zen masters…
Snowy Egrets are toddlers who found the Pixy Stix.
At first I thought they were simply tolerating one another.
Then I watched more carefully.
Every time the Snowy Egret sprinted through the shallows, tiny fish scattered.
Guess where many of them went?
Toward the Great Egret.
Who calmly reached down…
Lunch.
The Snowy would flush another school.
The Great would spear another fish.
It looked less like two birds competing…
…and more like one bird unknowingly working the drive-thru while the other picked up the order.
The funny part?
Neither one was helping on purpose.
Nature doesn’t schedule committee meetings.
There’s no “Inter-Egret Cooperation Council.”
No weekly planning session.
No shared Google Calendar.
Just two species with completely different hunting styles accidentally making life easier for each other.
And suddenly I realized…
Maybe I’d had it backwards all along.
I wasn’t looking at a mother and child.
I wasn’t looking at friends.
I wasn’t even looking at partners.
I was looking at coworkers.
One did all the running.
The other got all the credit.
Come to think of it…
I’ve worked in places exactly like that.
I’d love to share my posts with you. If you subscribe, they’ll come straight to your inbox—most days, like a little note from me to you. It means a lot to know you’re reading along.
Browse my complete art portfolio and shop for prints at imagesbygacioe.shop
Leave a Reply