Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) in Flight over a Florida Wetland's pond during the Spring mating season. A small, active white heron, the Snowy Egret is found in small ponds as well as along the ocean shore. Its black legs and yellow feet quickly identify it. The breeding range in eastern North America extends along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from Maine to Texas, and inland along major rivers and lakes. Their flat, shallow nests are made of sticks and lined with fine twigs and rushes. Three to four greenish-blue, oval eggs are incubated by both adults.

It's American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) breeding season and right in the middle of Florida wading bird nesting season. This is not the time for a Snowy Egret and a Common Egret to be fighting over wading rights smack dab in the center of where mom and dad alligator want to make baby gators.

he Great Egret (Ardea alba), also known as Common Egret, Large Egret or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, Wikipedia® What we have here are larger fledgelings being fed by one of the parents at the nest. I would imagine they will no longer be there shortly.

The Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) formerly known in North America as the Louisiana Heron, is a small heron. It is a resident breeder from the Gulf states of the USA and northern Mexico south through Central America and the Caribbean to central Brazil and Peru. There is some post-breeding dispersal to well north of the nesting range. Tricolored Heron's breeding habitat is sub-tropical swamps. It nests in colonies, often with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. In each clutch, 3–7 eggs are typically laid. Wikipedia®

Osprey near Lake Conway Orlando Florida. Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT

The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), sometimes known as the sea hawk, fish eagle or fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings.

Nick Iltsopoulos headshots for Forbes on short notice. I have a model release.

Nick Iltsopoulos headshots for Forbes on short notice. I have a model release.

Nick Iltsopoulos headshots for Forbes on short notice. I have a model release.

Nikon's tiny little 35 f/2 mounted on a D700 FX camera