Pied Heron -vs- Egret

[PhotoByTrace]

A series of images of an argument over a fish. In the black corner we have the Pied Heron and in the white corner we have the Intermediate Egret. Taken in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia.
420mm f/6 1/2000sec ISO 280
Taken with Tamron 150-600 G2 on D850 with some cropping of raw images, so would have been preferable to be closer to 600mm.
C & C welcomed

[george013]

A series of images of an argument over a fish. In the black corner we have the Pied Heron and in the white corner we have the Intermediate Egret. Taken in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia.
420mm f/6 1/2000sec ISO 280
Taken with Tamron 150-600 G2 on D850 with some cropping of raw images, so would have been preferable to be closer to 600mm.
C & C welcomed

Wonderful!
The egret has his/hers head feathers up.
And the winner isn't that sure he can eat the fish himself.

George

[Shadowman]

Nicely seen and captured.

[PhotoByTrace]

Wonderful!
The egret has his/hers head feathers up.
And the winner isn't that sure he can eat the fish himself.

George

Yes, I love that aspect too. They are normally so collected and elegant looking, yet the Egret looks a bit like a dog might with the hackles all up lol.

Nicely seen and captured.

Thanks John. I'd actually been photographing a nearby croc and their motion in the background on the floodplain caught my eye. I didn't even realise the squabble was over a fish till I was reviewing the photos that evening.

[Tom Barry]

Wonderfully interesting series.

[ccphoto]

Love to see the birds fight over dinner. We see the Ospreys and Eagles do it the most though the Laughing Gulls aren't far behind. Your Black Comer looks much like our Tri Color Heron and the Intermediate Egret like the Great Egret here.

[joebranko]

Wonderful!
The egret has his/hers head feathers up.
And the winner isn't that sure he can eat the fish himself.

George

Amazing captures!

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

[billtils]

Great series and excellent individual shots.

[FootLoose]

An amazing set, Trace, worthy of a nature publication. I wouldn't have thought the birds needed to fight over fish in the wetlands. Still, that egret looks a bit on the skinny side, so ...

[PhotoByTrace]

Thanks all for the feedback. Much appreciated!
It was certainly a "target rich" photography environment, and I was rewarded with some lovely bird captures, though this interaction has become my favourite from my morning outings

An amazing set, Trace, worthy of a nature publication. I wouldn't have thought the birds needed to fight over fish in the wetlands. Still, that egret looks a bit on the skinny side, so ...

Thanks Greg, I was surprised they were fighting over a fish too. There seemed no lack of food in the vicinty; but yes, perhaps illness or injury prompted it, or maybe it was just purely opportunistic. As for publication, I wouldn't know where to begin on that. At the moment, they are simply destined as a series for my hallway.

[DanK]

Well done! Fabulous captures, and an excellent series.