Birds and Wetlands
The Journal · Page 6 of 40

Field notes,
page 6.

Continuing the archive — slow essays and observations from marshes, mangroves, and pondsides around the world.

475essays archived
6of 40 pages
weeklynew notes

All dispatches

Showing 61 – 72 of 475
Are Owls Bad Luck? Folklore vs Field Reality № 415
№ 41520 Jan 2026

Are Owls Bad Luck? Folklore vs Field Reality

A naturalist's look at three thousand years of owl folklore: where the bad-luck myth came from, why some cultures saw exactly the opposite, and what the science actually says about why owls feel ominous.

№ 41420 Jan 2026

Are Owls Dangerous to Humans? The Honest Answer

Owls almost never attack humans, but when they do it's almost always nest defence by Great Horned, Barred or Snowy Owls. Here are the species that account for the documented incidents, the locations where joggers get struck, and how to avoid being on the wrong end of an angry parent.

Are Owls Dangerous to Humans? The Honest Answer № 414
№ 41219 Jan 2026

Are Birds Good for Your Garden? Yes - And Here's the Data

Garden birds eat their body weight in aphids, caterpillars and slugs every week of the breeding season. Here's the per-species accounting, the trade-offs (yes, some fruit, some seedlings), and how to set the garden up to favour them.

Are Birds Good for Your Garden? Yes - And Here's the Data № 412
Are Ducks a Good Pet? The Honest Answer № 411
№ 41119 Jan 2026

Are Ducks a Good Pet? The Honest Answer

Ducks make excellent pets for the right person and absolute disasters for the wrong one. Here's the honest breakdown: noise, mess, lifespan, housing, predation risk, and whether your garden, neighbours and patience can take it.

№ 41019 Jan 2026

Are Hummingbirds Territorial? Yes - Aggressively

A naturalist's read on hummingbird aggression: who defends what, why a single dominant male can monopolise a feeder, and the four-feeder layout that gets you the most birds visible at once.

Are Hummingbirds Territorial? Yes - Aggressively № 410
Are Bird Feeders Bad? The Honest Trade-Off № 409
№ 40918 Jan 2026

Are Bird Feeders Bad? The Honest Trade-Off

A naturalist's honest answer: bird feeders are net-positive in winter, net-neutral the rest of the year, and net-negative only if you don't clean them. The risks are real but every one is solvable.