Heavy machinery

Posted:

Dec

2014

Category
Environmental

Words by

James Hutchinson

The task was to move the heather plants to a different location on the Links away from the site of redevelopment. We required heavy digging equipment rather than hand tools for this job.

This week the greenkeepers have had the heavy machinery out! There’s an area on the Links which is in the process of being redeveloped and requires a spot of heather maintenance. As I’m sure you know by now, we are quite proactive with our heather management here at the Home of Golf. The task was to move the heather plants to a different location on the Links away from the site of redevelopment. We required heavy digging equipment rather than hand tools for this job. It was a slow and careful procedure but we really don’t want to lose any of our attractive growing heather.

Away from heavy machinery, our courses are home to many ground nesting birds including wrens and lapwings but do you know that we offer nesting habitats to many other types too? We have numerous nesting boxes at Pilmour Lodge and two owl boxes on the Strathtyrum Course. We checked to see if any had been habituated over the past season and I am pleased to report that some kind of nesting material was found in every one. This box for instance (below left) has been used by one of our feathered friends and it’s nice to think that a family of birds have been raised and then fledged from this point.

The nest boxes we have were in need of some maintenance so the team are in the process of building us new ones (above right).

On the subject of birds, there have been some fantastic sightings over the past couple of weeks. Turnstones, common scoters, peregrine falcons, knots and pintails can be seen in the Eden Estuary just off the Old Course. The resident kestrel makes an appearance almost every afternoon and can be found patrolling the New and Jubilee Course’s long grassed areas. Here it is leaving its regular perch which just happens to be our weather station!

The Eden pond has recently become home to three mute swans. It looks like it could be two males and one female by the way the two larger swans fluff themselves up and ‘show off’ to the smaller of the trio.