Monthly Feature Hosted By:
	David Phipps, GCSAA Class A member at Stone Creek Golf Club, Oregon City, Ore.

As I prepared Stone Creek Golf Club for Audubon certification one of my challenges was determining how I was going to fulfill the requirements for the “Outreach and Education” section. Luckily, I was able to start a program with a local grade school and introduce birding to sixth graders. Grade school tours are not an option for some superintendents, so they need to develop creative ways to involve their club members directly. My friend Alan Nielsen, CGCS at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver Washington has found a fantastic solution.

Alan and his staff developed a bird box with a miniature camera and a transmitter. The signal is transmitted to a monitor located in the members’ lounge. From there members get to watch the bird’s processes from nest building to the fledglings activities. I’m not sure which was more popular, ESPN or the Bird Cam, but I do know that it stimulated quite a bit of interest.

One of the club’s wait staff became very interested and was able to ask Alan’s Audubon committee members, Donna and Jerry Schwanke, questions about the nesting process. She then in turn relayed the information on to inquiring members. The whole process created a whole new appreciation for the many bird boxes which are located throughout the entire course. Now I am sure that many will now realize that there is life happening out there and especially within all of those bird houses.

Follow Alan’s case study on EDGE and see how he turned an inexpensive project into a successful educational opportunity for his members and their families. If this is a project that would fit at your course, give it a try and report back to EDGE. It would be interesting to see how different clubs assemble their boxes and how the member responses varied from club to club.

If you are compelled to share an environmental case study, we would love to hear from you. Your completed case study will earn you 0.25 service points. If you have any questions feel free to contact myself at dcphipps@bctonline.com or Mark Johnson, GCSAA’s Senior Manager, Environmental Programs.

May's Guest:
	Gerald and Donna Schwanke, Royal Oaks Country Club's Audubon Committee Members

Getting golfers and their families involved and interested in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary program at Royal Oaks Country Club became much easier when we installed the bird cam and monitor for viewing. Casual curiosity came first, then anticipation of “nest building,” “more eggs,” “eggs hatching,” “fledging of baby birds” and all the interesting activities in between. 

It has provided a great teaching opportunity for our members and staff. One of our wait staff was asking new questions every day and she would in turn explain the latest events to anyone who paused in front of the monitor.  

The swallows, perhaps in defense of their privacy, would park feathers between the camera and nest. We had to remove them every few days but it would always bring a chuckle. We all watched dad feed mom as she steadfastly maintained her vigil on the nest full of eggs. Of course, the chorus of open mouths happened on cue as mom or dad came near the nest. Colleen, one of our wait staff was fascinated with the whole process and made video tapes on the monitor/VCR player. When the nesting process was in a quieter phase she would bring out tapes she had recorded to show children and other members the more exciting moments. We typed out an information sheet about the swallows so people would know what to expect and what they were seeing when no one was around to explain things.

In the second year of the project we had a nest of chickadees after the swallows had fledged and it was an additional teachable moment to point out the differences in the lives and activities of the two bird species. The chickadees used totally different nesting materials and were much neater in their housekeeping.

We had so many positive comments from members and staff I can’t imagine not continuing this project and perfecting the equipment as much as we are able. The club manager has asked if we could incorporate the bird cam into the website for the club so it could be viewed off site.