A month ago we were regularly seeing a pair of Cormorants in the pond on 17.  One day we saw 2 pairs hanging out in the pond.  These birds likely stopped of during their migration north.  We have not seen them around lately.  The Cormorant is fun to watch in the pond.  It is a diver, and I was able to catch a video of it diving.  The feathers on Cormorants are different from ducks, in that they do not repel water.  This picture on the left shows the Cormorant raising out of the water and flapping its wings to dry them off before it starts to fly.

This video shows the pair of Cormorants in the pond, and you can watch one of them dive.  You can also see the blue Heron at 0:20, and the Snow Egret fly through at 0:40.

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17 pond has been the home of many different species of wildlife.  During the construction project the pond was constructed to strict specifications to provide different habits for wildlife.  As I drive by several times a day, it is obvious that we have succeeded with our original intensions.  Here is a post from last year that talks about the wildlife last year: 17 Pond Is Getting Crowded.  Here is a picture I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to get:

A video of the muskrat is on the YouTube account as well, HERE.  We do have another bird that we have been watching this week, and are excited to see it on the property.  I am not an Ornithologist, but from the limited research I have done, it is not common to see it around here.  We do have some video of it, but are trying to get more.  When we have one put together we will post it here.

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The pond at 17 green was pretty crowded when I drove by first thing this morning.  Several mothers have decided to keep their new additions around the pond.

This duck and her 6 ducklings have been in the pond for a few days now.

The most obvious of the mothers is this goose tending her nest.  She is sitting directly across the pond from the green.  Just to the east of this mother goose you can notice the nest from a previous hatching.

The previous hatching is likely from one of these families.  One pair of geese has 4 goslings, and the other has 6 goslings.

Apparently the heron felt a little crowded.  He was hanging out in the little pond in front of 11 tee, across the cart path from the pond on 17.

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A short note on a few things on the course:

This spot is on one fairway towards the green.  This shows the most extensive winter damage we suffered.  It also shows how much more susceptible annual bluegrass is to winter damage.  The dead spots are annual bluegrass, the grass that is still alive is bentgrass.  We waited to see how much of this area would green back up and, as suspected, the annual bluegrass is dead.  We will seed into the brown areas soon.

This picture shows the recovery of a patch of snow mold on 2 tee.  Now that the soil temperatures are warming up, many of these areas will be grown in after another week.  Another picture closer up:

This picture shows our latest effort to get our heron to stand in a different part of the pond.  Here is the background on our problem bird: Blight On 17 Green

This effort involves a canoe tethered to a stake in the pond.  Our thought is that the winds will naturally move the canoe around which we hope will deter the bird from standing in that location in the pond.

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Coyote near 10 tee on Sunday morning.

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Bill Frier made this Purple Martin birdhouse for Mary Lou Wehrli to exacting specifications. However, in researching, it seems Purple Martins need lots of space around their house. So Mary Lou's loss was our gain.

These feathered friends like condominium dwelling. As you play golf, you see them swoop over the fairways eating insects and lots of mosquitoes. Mary Lou applied the paint and NCC logo. It is now mounted in front of the Halfway House. Bill, a member of NCC since 1952, hopes the club will enjoy it for many years to come.

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The ESA's and the ponds have matured wonderfully since the renovation of the golf course. These new areas are a perfect habitat for many different species of wildlife. We are lucky enough to have a Great Blue Heron spending time in our pond on 17. The pond on 17 is constructed with a shelf on the north edge of the green for the establishment of aquatic vegetation. This shelf is 8 inches deep for several feet into the pond before dropping off to the deeper portions. This habitat is perfect for the Heron who likes to wade in shallow areas and feed on small fish, frogs and aquatic insects. Certainly with any diet, digestion occurs. The birds typical flight pattern out of the pond is into the prevailing winds from the south, over 17 green. Whether the intestinal obligations are a result of the flight, or the flight is a result of the intestinal obligations, we may never know. Either way, 17 green is suffering from the results.

We are trying several options for managing the situation. We continue to plug out damaged areas on the green. This has become a weekly job to tend to. The decoys in the pond are there to deter the Heron. If a Heron is already in a pond, most Herons will look elsewhere rather than confront a Heron that is already in an area. Most recently we have installed a fence in an effort to get the Heron to stand on the far east side of the pond to prevent the flights over the green.

Our next effort will be a sprinkler that is activated by a motion sensor. When the Heron flies into the pond, the sprinkler should turn on to scare the Heron away before there is a chance to land. We hope this will move him to a different area of the pond as well.

We love having the Heron on the property. Our efforts are to try and move the bird to another area of the pond to prevent the flight pattern over the green.

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