Snowy Egrets are active hunters of small fish and invertebrates. Unlike the larger Great Egret that waits in ambush or slowly stalks its prey, Snowys will run, hop, flutter their wings, stir up the water and generally cause commotion to flush their prey. Yellowlegs are shorebirds that are also very active feeders. Mixed groups of Snowy Egrets, Yellowlegs and even Cormorants will form a mob to chase and herd schools of small fish into a narrow area in order to concentrate them for capture. The following series of photographs show one juvenile Snowy Egret and one Lesser Yellowlegs working the same area in tandem, a very small “mob”.
Chasing small minnows or aquatic insects….
The Snowy is stirring up the water and mud to get small fish and invertebrates on the move.
These two birds worked up and down the length of a large pool for quite some time. It must have been a successful collaboration.
Birds in My Viewfinder 