On Fri, 12 Apr 1996, Eric Henriksen wrote:

> bmg wrote:
> >
> > Dear Tweeters,
> > Does anyone know if swans or herons(or other birds) eat golf
> > balls by accident? Are stray balls a hazard in any way?
> > Thanks, Max Gotz, Whistler, BC <bmg at whistler.net>
> >
>
> I don't know about water birds, but two weeks ago a crow tried to steal
> my ball before I could get to it. The ball appeared to be a little to
> big and heavy for the crow to handle so it started rolling it (towards
> the green, luckily). Fearing a penalty of some kind, I was forced to
> scare off the crow.
>
> Eric Henriksen
>
No penalty wiould be incurred as it is an outside natural entity moving
the ball. You would simply respot the ball at the original point. If
you try to move an ant or fly oof of your ball, and you cause the ball to
move, that is where a penalty occurs.
Now given that answer and proving I've been on a golf course once
or twice, I'll say I've seen very few bird strikes from golf balls. I
did find a chimney swift back east once. Though their environmental
record is some time suspect, golf courses do provide a fine service by
keeping things relatively green and undisturbed.
My father relates an incident which has occurred at his main golf
course where Canada geese have nested in the stumps of an old willow in a
lake on the course, and these birds often harass the golfers who hit too
close to their lake. He also has been tracking a small group of least
terns who nest on a dike across a creek from the golf course. When the
Platte floods in spring, a small group of terns nests atop this dike as
it is not used by vehicles.
I've gotten some lifers while golfing including my first osprey
when I was 14, and my dad just got back from South Carolina where he had
red-cockaded woodpeckers on one of the golf courses he was playing.
Here's to good birds for you this weekend!! RK
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray Korpi "One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."
Hm: Portland, OR --from "Birches"
Wk: Clark College by Robert Frost
Vancouver, WA
rkorpi at clark.edu