What is your favorite golf course bird and why?

[John Kavanaugh]

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i2890id.html  I had said on the Robert White thead that the Bobwhite is my favorite because of its song but I still remember seeing my first Road Runner when playing in Arizona.  What is your favorite golf bird and does golf architecture lend or hurt their environment?

[Rich Goodale]

I like the Arctic Terns at Brora, because if you fail to walk around the course during nesting season with an umbrella over your head (even in glorious sunshine) they will peck your eyes out.

Mother Nature always has her way of putting golf into perspective........

[John Kavanaugh]

Has the Bobwhite been leaving the lower midwest?  I don't recall hearing one all year and they used to be very common.

[John Kavanaugh]

You gotta love bird links..The Arctic Tern (looks like a Bandon bird to me) http://puffin.bird.audubon.org/virtual/arte.html

[Brad Tufts]

The eagle...

Har-de-har...har..

[Brent Hutto]

I loved hearing and seeing the skylarks on my trip to the Kent coast last year. There were everywhere at Littlestone and added a lot to the beach-holiday atmosphere of my day there with Craig Disher. There were also a few at Sandwich and Deal.



At my club, we mostly have crows cawing during your backswing. Not quite the same.

[JSlonis]

I'll go out on a limb and say we won't get any votes for...


My favorite is the Red Tailed Hawk that patrols my home course.  I enjoy watching them soar overhead, and have also seen them pretty close up hanging out in one of our pine trees.

[Tom Roewer]

Every course that is within Eastern Bluebird habitat should install boxes for nesting throughout the course.  They eat their weight in insects per day, and are beutiful to see.  As a bonus, a Martin House or two , if the room is there doesn't hurt either!

[Jim Thompson]

Gotta go with the Sandhill Crane.  Fell in love with them at Angels.

[Aidan Bradley]

I like all the birdies............

[Dean Paolucci]

I'm conflicted.  On my home course both the Red Tail and the Purple Martin are residents.

Jamie has a point on the Red Tail.  The Red Tailed Hawk is just majestic in flight and to see it stalk its prey is amazing!  It also keeps the rodent population in check.

Tom has a great point as well.  The Purple Martin is very exciting to watch in flight with its swooping and flying very close to the ground.  It's ability to keep the insect population down is an added benefit.

[Kirk Gill]

On the open land that existed next to where I bought my current house, a group of golden eagles lived in a stand of Ponderosa pines. We'd see them flying in and out of their little aerie, gliding above the open land, hunting. My wife and I worried a bit about what might happen to them once that land inevitably went under the bulldozer. To our surprise and delight, the open space just on the other side of the fence was left as open space in a deal between the developer of Colorado Golf Club and the county. Initially those eagles were disrupted by some of the work associated with the development, but recently I've noticed that they're back.......

[Brad Swanson]

Good call on the SH crane, Jim.  2 weekends ago while driving up to Lawsonia I saw 2 fields full of them on their migration up near Green Lake.  I'd never seen more than 2 together at any one time, so seeing a couple hundred was very special.

I also enjoy the occasional run in with a wild turkey (or several) while golfing.  

The meadowlarks in and around the Denver area golf courses are easy on the ears and eyes, too.

Cheers,
Brad

[Tom Roewer]

Sandhill Cranes are both impressive and beautiful, however, they can tear up a green or tee within minutes looking for grubs, beetles, etc.  I'm talking taking chunks 2-3 inches deep and 2 X 3 inches in area!

[Jim_Kennedy]

Early in the season we had Osprey hunting in the pond off our ninth fairway, a real treat.
This is a great area for seeing many species, like eagles, hawks, orioles, red wing blackbirds, etc., but the ones that always bring a chuckle are the seagulls. A few times a season they ride the winds up from LI sound, about a 70 mile trip, and perhaps 100 or so of them show up. They'll follow players around, especially those in carts, looking for handouts, and the air 'battles' they have with the crows, who look on them as invaders, are fun to watch.
   

[Dan Kelly]

The albatross.

Har de double har har.

Of course I've never seen one.

[Michael Whitaker]

My favorite bird on the golf course...

[A.G._Crockett]

I'll go with sandpipers and seagulls; means I'm at the beach, and right after I play I'll be:
   a. enjoying a vodka tonic
   b. figuring out where to play tomorrow

Here at home, I'll go with the Brown Thrasher, because:
   a. it is the state bird of GA
   b. the local hockey team is named after it
   c. the "thrasher" part reminds me of what my golf swing must look like

[Sean_A]

Gotta go with a bird I can eat.  


Though the Red Kites of Huntercombe are awful cool as well.


Ciao

[Dan Kelly]

Gotta go with a bird I can eat.  

Get thee to Sutton Bay!

One of our party (golf, not hunting) nearly bagged one with a tee ball last time I was there.

[John Kavanaugh]

Gotta go with the Sandhill Crane.  Fell in love with them at Angels.

Jim,

This Heron deal has me confused.  Did you have the bird pictured up in Indiana?  We seem to have more of a mangy looking Blue Heron down here but in researching it they also claim to be in Oregon.  Link: http://www.birdnature.com/may1898/blueheron.html

[Jim Thompson]

John,

We have Heron's also.  Even the protected Blue ones.  A project I was once part of had to move a couple holes due to a heron rookery.  What a deal.  The sandhill cranes and herons are about the same size although they have a very different temperment.  A heron will fly away from you while a sandhill will walk right at you with that big aerifier lookin' right at your kneecap.  Creepy.

[Bill_McBride]

During the spring and summer we had a bunch of least terns hanging out at a couple of our new lakes.  What a wonderful bird!  They fly around staring down at the water, and then, POW!   , they slam into the drink and snatch out a tasty morsel.  Then they do it again.  And again.  I could sit there and watch them all day.

[Joe Bausch]

I love bird watching and playing golf.  Myrtle Beach is a great place to see birds.  And one of my faves there is the pileated woodpecker:



They tend to like rotting trees in very wooded areas, so I don't think golf architecture hurts them too much, except where forested areas are entirely cleared for a course!

[Brent Hutto]

Joe,

I remember the first time I ever saw a Pileated Woodpecker. I knew what they were from pictures but one swooped over my head and landed on a tree across the street and I almost made wee-wee in my pants. The pictures don't clue you in and it's amazing seeing that kind of wingspan in bird that's so obvious a silly woodpecker.

Sean,

I think Huntercombe's logo is by far the most attractive and desirable of any club's. I just wish I'd bought more than one shirt the day I was there because now I have to ration wearing it just every other month or so to avoid wearing it out before my (inevitable) return visit.

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