Bluebird Update...Great news!!!

A good comprehensive Bluebird book with some great pictures of these beautiful songbirds.

Winnetka Golf Club manages 32 Bluebird nesting boxes. This season there have been nine boxes used by the Tree Swallows which are another desirable bird species. Presently there are four active boxes occupied by bluebirds. The slightly hidden box at the yellow traffic post entrance/Par-3 GC #5Tee has babies ready to fledge. The box just past the #14 Tee berm on the left side next to the pond has four eggs being incubated. #2 Rough left hand side has babies only a few days behind the #11 Tee box that has been highlighted in these last two blogs. This is the most successful year since the West Nile Virus (2003+) decimated the bird population. Hardest hit were the Chickadees, Crows and Bluebirds. The bluebirds will have a second ands sometimes third clutch of babies in any season before fall. The offspring from previous clutches will frequently help the parents in feeding the young insuring success.




Bluebirds at #11 Tee 4-6 days old. This photo caught one baby instinctively opening its' mouth for food. Sorry the picture only uploads sideways on the blog!




Bluebirds at #11 Tee now 6-8 days old. The box will be monitored daily, but we will no longer open, so they don't prematurely jump out of the box. All four look healthy and should fledge latter next week.


Approximately 50 mealworms are left daily for the parents to feed their babies. Mealworms are typically used by anglers for fish bait.






A Wrens nest with babies near #18 Green. Notice the nest is predominately sticks and stems.



Old 33-vinyl-LP of George Wettling's (Blues) Allstars found at a garage sale was a 'must buy' for a quarter just for the picture!

ATTENTION Bluebird watchers!!! Two nest boxes with eggs #2 Rough (west side) & #11 Tee complex

Please comply with signage and please use common sense to avoid hitting box.

Bluebird box at #11 Tee cart path.


Four eggs during incubation that typically takes 10-12 days.


2-Day old babies. All plump and healthy balls of peach-fuzz type feathers. Notice the beaks by the yellow line. When opening the box at this stage they instinctively raise and open their mouths. Took a few pictures to get one in focus thus they knew I was not their parent and layed still. Bluebirds have made a huge comeback over the last few decades from people actively monitoring their nesting boxes. Staff is a long time member with the BRAW- Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin.


The first few days the parents feed the babies fruit. The Serviceberry shrubs intentionally planted throughout the course are a primary fruit used by the Bluebirds. This photo shows a mass planting of serviceberries in spring bloom to the west of #10 Tee/back of #15 Green. Watch for bluebirds picking fruit here and at #7 Tee hedgerow.


Close-up of the edible fruit. The berries are ripe when dark blue or purple and taste very similar to blueberries. Please stay tuned to the plight of our new born bluebirds on the next blog. English House Sparrows and extreme weather are the two major hurdles for these babies to clear before they fledge in 12-14 days.

Talk about a "Fried-Egg Lie", wildflowers and a GOOD Blackhawk omen for game-6 tonight!!!

Close-up of Snapping Turtle laying eggs in the #12 Green Sand Bunker. Please note when she was done, we covered up the hole and staff watches daily for activity.

Another 'Snapper' laying eggs..."believe-it-or-not" in the front bank of #14 Tee.




Dames Rockets growing near #14 Green. They can also be found throughout the dike on Holes #14-16-17-18 as well as the wildflower berms on #13.


The "official Winnetka Golf Club rain gauge" total from yesterday...the day before Lord Stanley's Cup is present in Philadelphia for game 6 tonight...was .61-inches of rain. The last time the Blackhawks brought the cup home...1961 !!! Let's Go Hawks!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Chicago Trivia and Da Hawks!

Memorial Day is a national holiday to remember/commemorate the loss of American lives in war. The Memorial Day observance started right after the Civil War in several cities around the country. Carbondale Illinois was considered to be the first, started by General Black-Jack Logan. I am fortunate to have spent quite a bit of time in Southern Illinois and here are pictures from that exact cemetery. Double click on the picture to enlarge for your reading pleasure.




OK, here is a bit of trivia...In what "CITY" of the Union (North) are there more Confederate dead buried in, than any "STATE" (think of Pennsylvania/Gettysburg) outside of the Confederacy (South)???

Yes, this great metro we live in Chicago! When General Grant started his campaign south along the Mississippi River the prisoners where sent back to Camp Douglass. Then a training camp for the Union located at 32nd and Cottage Grove. As they were not well taken care of, living in pine shacks, many without shoes, thousands succumbed to our harsh winters... The following pictures are from Oak Woods Cemetery located at 67th and Cottage Grove where over 6,000 Confederate dead are buried in a mass grave.





As we spend quality time with our friends and families this weekend please remember we might be witnessing some new history in the making... the return of Lord Stanley's Cup to Chicago. Its' nature certainly is not of the ultimate price our brave military heroes have paid in the past and present. But it is about a game called 'Hockey' that lets us escape from the rigors of life for entertainment purposes. Sorry for the rant on hockey but I admire the athletes as they appear to act as the least 'entitled' in all of pro sports. By the way, the last time the Cup was hoisted by our Blackhawks I was just a few months old and don't remember it all too well. Oh ya, the TV 'back in the day' was black and white!

Following is a picture from my cell phone as the Hawks beat San Jose 3-2 in OT on Dustin Byfuglien's goal in OT last Friday night. LET'S GO HAWKS!!!

How to correctly fill a divot (and more importantly how NOT to fill a divot).

Below is a perfectly filled fairway divot using the seed & soil mix. The objective is to provide a smooth surface (in case a ball lands in it) with one-half inch of room for the turfgrass plant to grow.

(Below)This is not only the wrong way but is very detrimental to the mowers. The soil mix has sand which dulls the mowers blades which in turn are costly to repair or service. The old adage that if a little is good, then more is better, actually costs money!

THANK YOU very much for reading this important blog today!

Winnetka Golf Club OPEN on Monday mornings all season this year!

New for the 2010 Golf Season, both golf courses will open at 7 am. In the past the courses were closed until 11 am on Monday mornings during the spring (April/May) and fall (Sept./Oct./Nov). As always please call the golf shop for updates at 847-501-2050. The first person to name the location of this picture of Phlox will receive two free range tokens. You must answer through this blog's comment section.
Thank you!

FRIDAY May 14th Golf Courses OPEN !!!

Both golf courses are OPEN today as of 7am. There are no gas carts running as there is a fair amount of casual water from the 2.28" of rain Thursday morning. Staff will be working 'in-play' areas throughout the day cleaning up clipping debris on fairways and restoring the few sand bunkers that may have washed down. PLEASE be careful and yell " FOUR" before hitting near staff. Thank you very much!

Red Eared Slider Turtle was seen earlier sunning at #2 Tee.


Red Tail Hawk is in middle of tree. Double click picture to enlarge.


Flowering crabapples near #7 Tee.


Old Halfway House crabapples.


Hole #7 Winnetka National-North Course (as labeled by resident Golf Professional Dan Leonard).