Bird House Tour

         It’s time to gather up your binoculars, field guides and water proof shoes. The first annual Golf Course Bird Watching Tour heads out onto the golf course from the pro shop on Monday, June 6^th at 9:00 AM. Villages residents, Mary and Dave Fullerton will be leading the tour. They will take the group to 10 of the 12 birdhouses on the golf course, hopefully helping to identify any of the house’s new occupants as well as any other birds that they see along the way. The tour can be done on foot or in your golf cart. Everyone will receive a map of the golf course, showing the location of all 12 birdhouses and a list of all birds ever seen at The Villages.

Meet the Team

Francisco

Francisco  has been on the golf course maintenance team since 1993. Although he can operate all the equipment on the golf course, he is most often seen during the summer spot watering the front-9 fairways. Here he is operating the 'verticutter' on the 18th green.

Raptors of The Villages G and CC

Photo by Michael Kulakofsky

Cooper's hawks are agile forest hawks. They feed mostly on smaller birds. The curved tail is a good way to tell a Cooper's Hawk from a Sharp-shinned Hawk. The Cooper's Hawk has a tail that is longer in proportion to the wings than does the Sharp-shinned Hawk. You will  also see that the tail has a deeply curved tail while the Sharp-shinned Hawk's tail seems to be squared off.

Wild Thing

Lake Along the Right Side of the First Fairway

The golf course maintenance staff has created several vegetated buffer or "no spray" zones around the golf course. These areas which are around some of the edges of our lakes are specifically maintained with plants that will reduce storm water flow and potential pollution from runoff. Buffer zones protect water quality and aquatic species.