Nest building is mutual activity with male and female Great Egrets. The nest can be upto 3 feet wide and one foot deep, lined with pliable material that will dry to a cup shape. The original nest platform is built with larger sticks by the male.
Great Egrets will nest with other water birds in colonies often over water, as in this case. They might go as high as 100 feet off the ground to the top of a shrub or tree.
I cannot know this for certain, but I like to think that these two birds are either about to mate or are a pair. When they are in breeding season their face and legs become a brilliant red color, instead of their normal orange and the bottom of their bills turn black. Ibis are are very social and have fascinating behavior. Like the Great Egrets they breed in a colony, but also forage, display and fly in a colony group. They have striking red faces and beaks, bright blue eyes and black wing tips.