The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
In the discussion of the "אֵ֖שֶׁת יְפַת־תֹּ֑אַר" the Torah provides that after seeing the woman, the soldier must wait " יֶ֣רַח יָמִ֑ים " (Devarim 21:13). The use of the term Yerach instead of the more traditional Chodesh in describing the month that the soldier must wait is a curious use of verbiage. R' Frand gave an explanation from a Rav from Tunisia whose name I did not catch who explained the word choice by linking it to a Levush who discusses the differences between the terms in a Kesuva and a Get.
When referring to the date of the wedding, the Kesuva says that it is the x date of Chodesh y. However the Get states that it is the x date of Yerach Y. The reason is that the term Chodesh is used when something is being brought in and the term Yerach is used when something is being separated.
R' Frand tied this into the pasuk in Shemos 2:2 where it states about Moshe " וַתִּצְפְּנֵ֖הוּ שְׁלשָׁ֥ה יְרָחִֽים" - that Yocheved hid him for three months. The reason that Yerach is used is because Yocheved knew that after the hiding period she was going to have to give Moshe up.
This is why the Torah uses the word Yerach by Eishes Yifas Toa'r - there is a hope that during the thirty day period he will realize that he does not want her and choose not to marry her.
R' Frand said a second vort on the mitzva of Shiluach HaKan. He first quoted the Avnei Nezer who asks why the mother bird must be sent away if her natural explanation is to flee from humans in the first place? He explains that the mother bird wants to protect its young and in so doing rises above the level of a creature.
R' Frand then quoted the sefer Bei Chiya which explains that in Parshas Noach, man is told that he can eat the animals and at the same time is warned about killing other humans, because man was created in the image of Hashem - "כִּ֚י בְּצֶ֣לֶם אֱלֹהִ֔ים עָשָׂ֖ה אֶת־הָֽאָדָֽם" (Bereishis 9:6). The Abarbanel explains that the word Tzelem comes from Tzel - shadow. The same way that a shadow follows a person and mimics what he does, so too we should try to emulate Hashem.
R' Frand closed the vort by stating that when a bird protects its young, it is acting like Hashem. As such we must send the bird away so that it is not pained when we take the eggs/hatchlings.
R' Frand said a final vort which compared the mitzvos of honoring one's parents and shiluch hakan, which both have the reward of long life. The Yerushalmi states that the two have the same reward in order to show that an easy mitzva (sending away the mother bird) and a more difficult mitzva (honoring one's parents - a mitzva with no firm end and no limit) both are equally important. We should not consider the importance of the mitzva to be based on the level of difficulty, since both of these have the same reward.
R' Frand further explained that the two mitzvos are also both based on rachmanos. A person has mercy on the mother bird by sending it away so that it does not see the eggs/hatchlings being taken. Similarly, a person has mercy when a parent r'zl reaches the infirmity of old age and the child must take care of the basic needs of the parent.
R' Frand also offered a second view - based on a Vilna Gaon. The Gaon explains that our natural inclination is to believe that both mitzvos are built on compassion - if the Torah tells us how to act with little birds, it should also carry over to our actions towards people. Similarly, the showing of respect to parents when they age also appears to be based on compassion. This school of thought follows the Rambam and the Ramban who view the mitzvos as based on rachmanus.
However, there is another way of looking at the mitzva. The Gaon quotes the Zohar who explains that the mitzva shows the quality of aczarious - loosely translated as cruelty or lack of compassion. Although the mother bird is sent away, it eventually returns and sees that its nest is essentially gone. It has no hatchlings in the nest or eggs and it cries. The Zohar explains that it cries to the angel of birds and that its tears provoke Hashem's mercy and we too hope that he will have mercy on us and rebuild our nest from which we have been exiled (the Beis Hamikdash).
Under this approach to shiluach haken, the two mitzvos are from opposite ends of the spectrum - one is compassion and one is cruelty. The Gaon explains that this is why the rewards are specified - because we must know that whether the mitzva is easy or difficult or involves compassion or cruelty with a purpose - the reward is the same.
This concept equally applies to mitzvos of other kinds. A person may be predisposed to act a certain way, however to keep a mitzva, the person might have to act against their nature. A person may be shy and introverted, but the mitzva of hachnasas orchim - welcoming in guests, requires him to go against his nature.
The Gaon explains that this is why both mitzvos have the same reward. A person may be a rachaman for whom chessed comes easy and sending away the mother bird is difficult. A person may be a cold person who has no issue sending away the mother bird, but cannot easily be warm and respectful of his parents' needs. The person needs to know that whether the mitzva is easy or hard for him, it has the same reward.
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