Beauties and the 'beasties'

The beauty of the raptor, the osprey, continues to enchant me with their stature...their reputation of the great, ultimate fisher. Tho sometimes referred to as the fish eagle, or fish hawk, they are marvels to watch by any title as they perch themselves ever so patiently, on continual look-out for a source of protein. Many-a-time, while driving over the JFK Causeway from Corpus Christi to the islands, I spot them up on the highest of street light poles that decorate the highway with their catch of the day!!! In flight, they too are marvels...gracefully gliding, soaring through the air to land precisely on ground, or over water as they pluck a huge fish from 'nature's tank' to only carry it within their humongous talons on shore or high above out of other predator's way, to consume their meal. Despite their size, their bodies are slender, with long, narrow wings and long legs. I read that ospreys fly with a marked kink in their wings, making an M-shape when seen from below; this I've not noticed. This particular one, I captured from the car's window, was alert to my slowly inching the car within photo range... while it sat, statuesque, on top of a wooden nesting box along the shoreline on Oso Bay...


OSPREY
Photo taken: Laguna Shores - Corpus Christi, Texas
Habitat Range:


Then, there is beauty in the red cloak this fellow wears each day. Cardinal Red in fact...the male's red body and crest, reminiscent of a Catholic cardinal's cassock and biretta. Not that he's MORE pretty than his maiden...she is just a beautiful with her silver boa, and cardinal red accessories. But, around here, it seems that the male is more out in the open. The female is more elusive. Perhaps playing 'hard to get'? Who knows. I did not know this, but reading about them the other day, the Northern Cardinal has an alias [according to wikipedia that is] -- aka Cardinal Grosbeaks.



NORTHERN CARDINAL [male]
photo taken: Hans Suter Park - Corpus Christi, Texas
Habitat Range:



Beastly in appearance, but necessary in life...the Muscovy Ducks are mainly populated from the far south regions of the globe. Their origins seem to be that they're native to South America; found all around the world now as domesticated farm livestock. Once called by a familiar name: "Musco Duck": --known to farmers and imported/exported for the one simple fact: they reportedly consume a lot of mosquito larva and hatched pests found on farmland. A TRUE WILD Muscovy [link from wikipedia] doesn't look even close to what we see around the Coastal Texas area lakes and ponds. Normally, when spotted, they make no noise but their call is rather silently subdued, unlike other wild ducks. The male's call is deep 'throaty' - no real 'quack', while the female has a soft cooing. Yet, the wild Muscovy breed is nearly all black and very little distinctive wattle [or carnucle... similar to the turkey in color and denseness]. The more domesticated Muscovy ducks can come in an array of colors. From dappled to nearly solid. Colors range from black and white to lavender according to online references. I've only seen the white and black, and an iridescent black with white speckled head. Personally, I don't see much beauty to the duck, but like the distinct characteristics of vultures and turkeys, among others, their striking appearance has nothing to do with fault...only nature taking its course and serving a purpose in the whole scheme of things: the many many ecosystems, including our own.

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MUSCOVY DUCK

Photos taken: Lakeview Park - Corpus Christi, Texas

Habitat Range: