Underappreciated sites: Golf Courses

In my opinion, golf courses are under-utilized by counters doing CBC's, due to the fact that they are large mostly mowed grass fields that don't look that interesting. However, I've never birded a golf course that I didn't turn up Great Horned Owls. They have water resources in the form of ponds and creeks, and hedge rows surrounding them (see https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/rock-cut-christmas-bird-count/journal/56285-tips-hedgerows-all-of-them). They often have berry bushes, meaning that they usually have Cedar Waxwings.

In 2020 I was asked to lead a couple of winter bird walks at a local golf course that I wasn't familiar with and had never been to. During the scouting trips I made, I was surprised by the variety of birds that turned up, including Belted Kingfisher, Hermit Thrush, Eastern Bluebird and a large number of the most photogenic Cedar Waxwings I've dealt with. The walks ended up being so popular that we did three and I had to recruit assistants because of how many people signed up.

Some golf courses are open in the winter for cross-country skiers. Please bear in mind, do not walk on the ski trails, that makes it harder to ski on them and doesn't foment feelings of good will towards birders.

If the golf course is not open during the winter, consider contacting them and requesting permission to look for birds (see https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/rock-cut-christmas-bird-count/journal/56208-tips-private-property). You might be surprised by what is out there.

Posted on October 16, 2021 04:35 PM by neylon