Day 187: July 5th – Birdies on the golf course

Another warm sunny day

       Thursdays are “Bogie Busters” golf days when a group of “boomers” meets at Storm King Golf Club to play a round of 18 at one of America’s oldest courses.  I’ve mentioned before that I know about the downside of  building golf courses and how habitat fragmentation, use of chemicals and herbicides and so on can adversely affect the environment.

       I’ve also made my point that I generally see quite a few birds at most of the courses I’ve played, so I think there must be some sort of trade-off.  Birds love “edges” and the courses provide plenty of these.  Birds need water during the summer, and the courses provide plenty of water.  Courses generally plant plenty of trees in the fairways and around the holes, and birds need cover and the food in the form of fruit and seeds that these provide.  So yes, I defend the golf courses and their management as long as they take the environment into consideration.

       Today’s round was fairly kind to me with two birdies on the back nine.  I decided at that point to make my blog entry today about the other birdies that are found on the course.  After my round, I remounted the cart armed with the Nikon D300 and 80 – 400 mm zoom lens rather than my arsenal of clubs and drove one loop around the nine holes.  In my trip around, I enjoyed watching and photographing 12 different species…..all in the dead heat of mid-day.   The Red-tailed hawk which was around all morning had taken off for parts unknown this afternoon, but birds like this Eastern kingbird were plentiful.

       Around the small pond on hole #3, Red-winged blackbirds and Common grackles were calling loudly and seemed to take offense at my intrusion.  I wondered if there might be nests nearby and therefore didn’t tarry for long.

Common grackle

Brown-headed cowbird 

       The "villainous" Brown-headed cowbirds which are known to “borrow” nests from other nesting species, dispose of the eggs within that nest and then lay their own in that same nest, were also around, lending credence to my theory that many of these birds were tending to young or incubating eggs.

       The ponds were supplying plenty of insects at the surface and there were quite a few Barn swallows taking advantage of the buffet being provided compliments of the course management.

       And so, even in the dead of summer at mid-day, there are birds to be found actively pursuing their daily tasks.  You just have to know where to look, and today it was at the golf course.