I took a couple of friends through Ding and the Bailey Tract yesterday. As I left my home, a swallow-tailed kite flew just a few feet overhead. I hoped it was a good omen that we’d see lots of birds. It turns out that it was a great omen and a good day for birding!

Last weekend, we saw only one Anhinga chick. There were two little bobbing heads yesterday, while Mama tucked in her head for a nap.

This Yellow-Crowned Night Heron gave us a couple of glimpses of the eggs it was sitting on. It looked like three at first, but after zooming in, there are actually four eggs.

We counted at least 4 Yellow-Crowned Night Heron nests and I’m sure we did not see all of them in this one spot.

Last time, I could not tell whether this was a Little Blue Heron or a Little Green Heron. All I could see was the back of the bird. Yesterday, I got a better look and it is indeed a Little Green Heron, just as the lady who was standing beside me said it was.

This pretty Tri-Colored Heron gave us plenty of time to take several photos, while it preened its beautiful mating plumage! I love the beak and eye color!

I think the bugs were irritating the birds as much as they were biting us.

It was good to see the Osprey nest at Ding was successful with at least one chick.

This Little Green Heron flew into the top of a tree right in front of us. It was so striking against the blue sky.

It was a treat to get to see all of these spoonbills so late in the morning.

There is almost always a Reddish Egret with a tracker on his back at this location. People were laughing and saying that they thought he might be a drone and that’s his battery pack. He will occasionally fly off, get new batteries installed and then return.

Not long after someone said that, he flew away and then returned!

He came back in with his feathers ruffled, but he seemed to shake it off pretty well.

A quick stop by the beach and I got a couple of pics of an Osprey right overhead, but no fish in his talons.

This Little Green Heron was quite a distance away at the Bailey Tract. It is a grainy photo, but it is always fun to see them fishing. He actually caught a small fish as we watched.