I'd Rather B Birdin': Muscovy Duck

Showing posts with label Muscovy Duck. Show all posts

§ Still, I Go Birding....

As I type this up the corona-virus is still a threat nation-wide [globally, actually] so, as I go on the hunt for birds to photograph, I tend to stay in the car and shoot from the window, or try to go to a refuge before crowds arrive, leaving home before sunrise. With my life-style, not too much in the line of living has changed. [I don't even need to hoard toilet paper like the populace seems to be doing...I am civilized enough to use the shower!!!] Altho, if push comes to shove, I do have back-up photos in my archives [no, not to use at toilet wipes], but would prefer 'fresh' and new photos at this time of year when a lot of them are coming into breeding plumage. These are from quick walk-arounds in the parks recently:

AMERICAN AVOCETS [female and male]
photo taken: Indian Point Park
habitat map: Avocet
length: 18 inches
wingspan: 30-35 inches

OSPREY
photo taken: Portland, Texas
habitat map: Osprey
length: 20-24 inches
wingspan: 54-72 inches

RED BREASTED MERGANSER
photo taken: Sunset Lakes
habitat map: Merganser
length: 17-25 inches
wingspan: 30-36 inches

COMMON LOON
photo taken: North Bay
habitat map: Loon
length: 32 inches
wingspan: 54 inches

WHITE IBIS [breeding plumage]
photo taken: Lakeview Park
habitat map: Ibis
length: 24 inches
wingspan: 38 inches

MUSCOVY DUCK [domesticated?]

Note: Wild Muscovy Ducks have a plumage that is nearly all dark, except for brilliantly white feathers under the wings. Domesticated versions of the species may have a very wide array of plumages, but generally include more white or other colors than the all-dark wild Moscovy Ducks.

photo taken: City park
habitat map: Duck
WILD: Found in Old Mexico
length: 26-30 inches
wingspan: 49-48 inches

Those participating this week:

Sallie {FullTime-Life}
Lea's Menagerie
Lavender Dreams
Eileen
Tomthebackroadtraveler
Travels With Birds
Rosyfinch Ramblings
Linda, Virginia, USA
Lintuilua-Birding
Cranium Bolts
Nature Footstep
Birds Seen in Europe and Africa

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§ Lakeview Fowl...

Most of my initial conversation today will be on the book I just finished reading: "THE GENIUS OF BIRDS" by Jennifer Ackerman. My opinion of the book is just that...MY opinion. All in all, if you're in the least interested in birds and what they 'think', why they 'act as they do', their 'learning skills', tool making and even bird art; the scientific approach of their brain/genius, then, this is the book for you!! Throughout the pages, there is wit, wisdom, and wonderment! You will read about decades of scientific research on the brain functions/size of brain through trials and tribulations of many species. There are success stories, and things that go 'flat'...literally [page 92 of the soft paperback edition] in reference to a Kea letting air out an automobile tire [intentional maybe? Who knows!] Another few pages that had me laughing out loud was a family parrot...learning the language of humans and imitating sounds that it heard throughout the day...for instance the human couple's voices where their tone was spot on and confused the two - it was the bird! And more antics, the sound of the cellphone ringing...again perfect pitch...and again, the bird! -The bird would even mimic the man, answering the phone "hello"...Uhuh, uhuh, uhuh"...then the sound of a flat ringtone; hanging up [page 146-47]. Perusing the book if you choose, you'll also learn theories about bird navigation, the use of stars and at times how they can become disorientated. At one point near the end, I found myself in just a tad bit of puzzlement. Throughout many pages Ms. Ackerman covered how birds can smell...the nerve is in their beaks that submit neurons to their brains...experimenting with crows and how to award them with a correct decision from identical shapes [the award was a morsel of food] --- it continued to pick the correct two pairs of matching images...well, perhaps, but she never mentioned that it was all possible the bird could SMELL the food?!! Why wasn't that brought to our attention? A worthy book to read, 4 stars out of 5 being the best kind of book...it is on the New York Times Bestseller List!

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Oh, I failed to mention...Ms. Ackerman also pointed out that the House Sparrow [see below] can be found on EVERY continent but Antarctica. Okay, on with my birding:

Tho the thermometer reads in the high 80's low 90s, the heat index has been enough for the weather app on my phone to issue heat advisories of 110-114 degrees! So, these photos I share today are some from a couple of weeks ago while on an early morning stroll around the lake at a city park that is home to many, many pigeons and gulls, along with several domesticated ducks and geese. Every once in a while cormorants, egrets, herons, teals, a few sandpipers may be seen. Oh and two resident roosters!! It's a popular place for parents to bring their small children to feed the waterfowl and turtles!!

photos taken: Lakeview Park - Corpus Christi, Texas

MUSCOVY DUCKS and ducklings
habitat map: Muscovy

CORMORANTS
habitat map: Cormorants

HOUSE SPARROW [female]
habitat map: Sparrow

MOTTLED DUCKS
habitat map: Duck

Now share your birding experiences:

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§ 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.

§ The common...and the unusual

TENNESSEE WARBLER
photo taken: Lakeview Park - Corpus Christi Texas

MALE NORTHERN CARDINAL
photo taken: My backyard - Corpus Christi Texas

LAUGHING SEAGULLS - Mating colors
[non-mating, beaks are lighter reddish-orange]
photo taken: Packery Channel - Mustang Island Corpus Christi Texas

CHECKERED PIGEON
photo taken: Lakeview Park - Corpus Christi Texas

MUSCOVY DUCK [rare in coastal Texas]
photo taken: Lakeview Park - Corpus Christi Texas
Habitat Range in the Americas:

DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANT
[crests are seldom seen]
photo taken: Packery Channel - Mustang Island Corpus Christi Texas

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
photo taken: Charlie's Pasture Nature Preserve - Port Aransas Texas

§ Still, I Go Birding....

§ Lakeview Fowl...

§ Beauties and the 'beasties'

§ The common...and the unusual

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