Continuing the archive: slow essays and observations from marshes, mangroves, and pondsides around the world.
№ 228 Pickles are loaded with salt and vinegar - both genuinely harmful to ducks. Sodium toxicity is one of the most easily caused waterfowl poisonings, and the acetic acid disrupts gut function. Fresh cucumber is fine; anything pickled is not.
Geese can safely eat raw unsalted nuts in small quantities. Peanuts, almonds, walnuts and pecans are all fine when chopped fine and offered as treats. Salted, smoked, or flavoured nuts are not. Bitter almonds and macadamias should be avoided entirely.
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№ 226 Geese have better low-light vision than humans but aren't truly nocturnal. They're crepuscular - active at dawn and dusk - and migrate at night using a combination of magnetic, celestial and visual cues. In genuine darkness they roost on water and rely on hearing for threat detection.
Six duck breeds produce reliable black-and-white plumage: Magpie, Ancona, Black Swedish, Silver Appleyard, Hookbill, and (loosely) Cayuga with white markings. They're popular with backyard keepers for layability and personality. Here's how each looks, lays, and behaves.
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№ 224 An 'all-black goose' in North America is almost always a Brant (Branta bernicla) - a small saltwater goose of arctic origin. Less commonly it's a feral Cackling, melanistic Canada, or domestic Chinese variant. Here's how to tell them apart by size, bill, and habitat.
Swans form long-term pair bonds and most stay together for many breeding seasons. But about 6-9% of Mute Swan pairs 'divorce' each year, and bereaved birds often re-pair after a year or two. The folklore is mostly right - just less absolute than the romantic version suggests.
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№ 222 North Carolina hosts six regularly-occurring owl species across the Blue Ridge, Piedmont and coastal plain. Great Horned, Barred, Eastern Screech, and Barn are the four you'll genuinely encounter; Short-eared and Northern Saw-whet appear seasonally. Here's where to find each, and how to identify them by call.
Swans don't take their own lives - the folklore that they do is romantic projection. But the RSPB confirms genuine grieving behaviour after a mate dies, and weakened older swans can decline and die from grief-related stress. The 'broken heart' story is half-true.
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№ 220 Cat food is too high in protein (30-40% vs geese's 10-20% need), too high in salt, and too low in fibre for waterfowl. It won't poison a goose that snatches a piece but it's nutritionally wrong as a regular food. Stick to formulated waterfowl feed.
Kiwi flesh is safe for geese and high in vitamin C. The fuzzy skin and the calcium-oxalate content are minor concerns - peel it, dice it, treat as an occasional fruit, no more than 1-2 times a week.
№ 219 Geese can safely eat ripe mango flesh in moderation. The pit contains amygdalin (cyanogenic, like apple seeds and cherry pits) and the skin contains urushiol - both should be removed. Chop into pea-sized pieces; treat as an occasional fruit treat, not a staple.
Hawks can swim and have been documented doing so in the wild and on viral video. They aren't built for it - no webbed feet, less waterproof plumage than waterfowl - but they can wing-row to shore when waterlogged with a catch. Ospreys and Bald Eagles do this regularly; Red-tails and Cooper's only when desperate.
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