UN-natural egrets??? (4 pics)

Nee7x7

Maybe Harry can explain this...

One day while out driving I noticed literally hundreds of cattle egrets circling the sky in a particular spot, so of course I went to investigate. Imagine my surprise when I found out they were hanging out at the local recycling plant!!! I initially got permission from the gate guard to go take photos, but before I could snap more than a handful, another worker came over and demanded I leave the facility. Why, I don't know...but at least I got a few pics before being chased off. The odd behavior of these egrets was the strangest thing I've seen. We're talking recycling...not garbage, so maybe they were looking for nesting materials??? Harry, can you explain this odd behavior?

Not a great shot, but look closely...how many egrets can you count?


These were the *cool* guys...not getting into the frenzy like in the 1st pic


A closer view...


These guys were the wannabees...probably afraid to get into the mix because there were loud (blank loaded) shotgun blasts going off every few minutes in an attempt to try and scare them off.

Harryb

You got me Nee. Cattle egret are strange. There are only two things taht attract birds and that's food or another bird of the opposite sex. I would have to guess that they thought there was food there.

Very interesting shots.

Rohirrim

Interesting series. Would expect gulls there, not egrets

Nee7x7

Thanks for your input, Harry and Steve! We have a lot of cattle in our area, but oddly enough, you rarely see the cattle egrets around the cattle. They do hang out with sheep herds, tho. I have some pics with egrets sitting on the backs of sheep...strange birds, indeed, lol!