We joined the December bird count again this year. We had fun counting the birds in our neighborhood on Sanibel last year, so we volunteered to do it again. This time we walked instead of riding our bikes, which allowed me to bring along my camera and long lens.

Starting in our own backyard, we saw 40 Mottled Ducks, a Red-Shouldered Hawk, a Cardinal, a Common Gallinule, Crows, Woodpeckers, and Doves.

We saw seven Ospreys in our small neighborhood, most in nests, starting with the two in the nest behind our neighbor’s house. It appears that all of them are busy staking out their territory.

The Osprey below had a nest in the top of a very tall tree at the end of a cul-de-sac.

Another Osprey sitting on the edge of a recently repaired nest in a backyard.

The Osprey below landed in a dead tree in the lot across the street from our house.

We saw a second Red-Shouldered Hawk on our walk.

We saw a few Mockingbirds, too. (At least I think that is what they are!)

Then, off to Ding Refuge to take some pics without the need to count birds! There are always so many Cormorants at Ding, so I rarely take photos of them. But, this one seemed to be posing just for me!

The Reddish Egret does a little dance while looking for food. They create a shade with their wings before grabbing dinner.

I think the birds below are Willets. I'm sure Hugh will correct me if I’m wrong. I’m not good with identifying the shore birds!

It’s good to reach for your goals!

The rest of these photos were taken at Ding several days ago. I apologize for making the blog so long today!

The Anhinga’s beautiful feathers always fascinate me.

The coloring was striking on the Little Blue Heron below.