Course Wildlife

Young Fawn

It is the time of year when we have a lot of nesting and young wildlife on the golf course. Currently, this is the time of year where we start seeing fawns on the golf course. In the early stages a fawn is left alone. The mother stays close by, but only returns to the fawn to nurse. This is done in order to not attract predators to the fawn. If you encounter a fawn like the one pictured above it is perfectly fine. The best course of action is to leave it alone! The mother is close by and will be returning. The fawn will not travel with it's mother until it can forage and is capable of having a chance to evade predators.

Snapping Turtle Laying Eggs

We also have a lot of snapping turtles nesting throughout the golf course especially in bunkers. The turtles always lay eggs at the edge of the bunkers and at a depth where our maintenance doesn't impact them. We simply rake the sand flat and leave the nest alone. A number of times we have witnessed the eggs hatching in the morning and the small turtles emerging from the sand. It is at this point the turtles are most vulnerable to predators and to our equipment. We can't generally see them while mowing as they make there way through the rough to find water. Many of the agronomy team members have been known to give the baby turtles a helping hand and take them to water. The turtle nests in bunkers have been very successful over the year's and there is no need to mark them. I personally think raking the area flat helps in the success of the hatch as predators like raccoons love to dine on the eggs.

There is also a fox den on the edge of golf course. I saw the kits (young foxes) out and about playing for the first time yesterday. The adult foxes are some of the healthiest specimens that I have seen and pose absolutely no threat. The best practice is to just enjoy them from a distance and please don't feed the foxes.