Putting for Birdie

A new report offers golf course managers an opportunity to help birds

The United Kingdom's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has asked the nation's golf courses to reduce their use of chemicals and fertilizers in unkempt playing areas to provide safe habitats for birds.

According to a recent Telegraph UK story, "There are more than 140,000 hectares of rough and out-of-bounds areas on golf courses across Britain, the same area covered by all the RSPB's nature reserves, which could be managed for wildlife."

"The truth is that every golf course has potential to be a sanctuary for wildlife, and to provide an important stepping stone for birds and other animals whose habitat is under threat," said Nigel Symes of the RSPB, who co-wrote "Birds and Golf Courses: A Guide to Habitat Management."

"We would now like more golf clubs to look at what they can do for skylarks, woodlarks, corn buntings and all kinds of birds," Symes said. "Planting native plants like heather and creating reed beds and hay meadows as well as reducing pesticide and fertiliser use can all make a big difference."

It's a win-win situation that gives new meaning to the phrase, "putting for birdie."

GET INVOLVED

• Support the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
  
• Support BirdLife International in their efforts to prevent bird extinctions
  
• Join the Great Backyard Bird Count, a 4-day "citizen-science" project taking place across the United States starting on February 12, 2010
• Check out these 15 ways to attract birds -- and birdsongs -- into your backyard
  
• Read "What You Can Do to Help Birds" (StateOfTheBirds.org)
  
• 25 Things You Can Do to Help the Birds in Your Backyard
  
• Sign an Audubon petition urging Congress to take action on global warming based on their recent Birds and Climate report which clearly shows that climate change is affecting birds

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image: The R&A, St. Andrews