This Little Blue Heron was minding its own business when something happened that caused a frightful response.
As we see in these next two photos, our little heron was peacefully hanging out along the creek bed looking for a tasty morsel to eat.
Then something caught the attention of our little blue. You can see the feathers start to rise upon its forehead. I was busily snapping pictures and only caught a blur swiftly approaching from my left.
While I did not see what captured the attention of our bird, the camera was able to snap a clue. The lens was wide enough to see the wing tip of a Snowy Egret which had swooped in and stopped just short of the heron causing it to have quite a frightful reaction.
The Snowy Egret seemed a bit territorial and ruffled its feathers as well, but after a brief stand-off it appeared to calm down.
Like two ships passing in the night, the heron yielded to the egret and moved cautiously towards the bank.
The egret watched closely as the heron made a peaceful retreat. Sometimes, the better part of valor …
In Pics and Words 
I enjoyed this series, David. Fun seeing the Little Blue Heron get frazzled, you caught the moment when the first feathers started to rise. Great photos.
LikeLike
Thank you, Jet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent shots, David. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you, H.J.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fantastic pictures, I especially like the background.
LikeLike
The water is very clear and sort of backlit so it creates some interesting backgrounds.
LikeLike
Great capture of a wildlife story. Once I witnessed a fight between a great egret and a snowy egret over territory. The snowy backed off. I’m sure it was because of size.
LikeLike
This creek is frequented by Great Blue Herons and I have never seen a Snowy Egret challenge one of them. The Little Blue must have been thinking, “Pick on somebody your own size.”
LikeLike
Great shots, I love Herons and Egrets
LikeLike
It was a tense standoff for a bit. The creek is getting busy as flocks of migrating birds are arriving for the winter season.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So interesting. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Louella. I’m glad it ended peacefully.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, splendid shots👌
LikeLike
Thank you, Samreen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are welcome 😊
LikeLike