Exclusive Rhode Island Golf Club Cuts Down Tree with Red Tail Hawk Nest Clearly Visible in it

Hawk nest housing two adult Red Tails and three young chicks was in a tree cut down yesterday on the grounds of the Rhode Island Country Club.  Two chicks were killed - one is alive and being tended to by the female adult under a nearby cedar tree.

RED TAIL HAWK NEST CLEARLY VISIBLE IN TREE ON GROUNDS OF
RHODE ISLAND COUNTRY CLUB.  PHOTO: MAY 15TH 2007

A White Pine tree home to a nest of five Red Tail hawks on the grounds of the Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington, RI host of the upcoming CVS Caremark Charity Classic golf tournament was cut down yesterday, May 22 killing two of the chicks. 

I don't often cover news in my local community but there was a troubling event at a local golf club.  The Rhode Island Country Club is situated on Narragansett Bay and I pass it nearly every day.  Over the past several months myself and other bird-watchers enjoyed a rare close look at a Red Tail Hawk nest in a tree about 100 feet from a nearby road.   

PHOTO MAY 22, 2007 OF TREE THAT HOUSED NEST TAKEN @ 5:30PM

Being an avid bird-watcher, I stopped yesterday morning as I often do around 7 a.m. and observed the nest from the road with my binoculars.  I was quite surprised to find the tree housing the nest had been cut down when I drove by later that evening.

The nest was home to three Red Tail chicks and two adults.  It was near the top of an ailing White Pine tree adjacent to the 15th tee.  The nest was clearly visible from the road not 100 feet away and was alive with activity yesterday morning. 

THE MATURE HAWKS COULD BE SEEN OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS ON NEARBY TELEPHONE POLES WITH FOOD FOR THE CHICKS.  THIS PHOTO TAKEN LAST WEEK SHOWS ONE WITH A SQUIRREL.

The tree the nest was in did appear to be struggling after the winter.  The needles on the tree were brown instead of green.  Growing in between two other White Pines it was now an eyesore on the otherwise immaculate grounds of the Rhode Island Country Club. 

Obviously a decision was made to cut the tree down, however the chicks in the nest were not mature enough to fly.  See photo below taken yesterday morning May 22.

PHOTO OF ONE OF THE RED TAIL CHICKS TAKEN 7AM MONDAY THE DAY BEFORE THE TREE WAS CUT DOWN.  THE CHICK IS CLEARLY NOT OLD ENOUGH TO FLY.

The golf course superintendent said he was unaware the nest was in the tree.  He said two of the Red Tail chicks were killed when the tree was cut down and the third survived and was being tended to by its mother underneath a nearby cedar tree. 

Personally, I find it hard to believe golf course staff were unaware of the nest being in the tree.  The nest was in a dying pine tree and there was constant hawk activity in and out of the tree over the past two months.  In addition the nest was in a tree right next to the 15th tee and clearly visible from Nayatt Road as evidenced by the photos taken.  Furthermore the adult hawks were commonly seen in other trees and telephone poles etc right in the area.

I understand the White Pine tree the nest was in had become an eyesore.  I question why it was necessary to cut it down yesterday - with an active nest of hawks in it?  If the tree needed to be cut down wouldn't it make sense to wait until the hawks were mature enough and left the nest? 

Or is there pressure to make the course and grounds look flawless for the upcoming CVS Charity Golf Classic and in light of the club's recent multi-million dollar renovation project?  The answers to these questions are unknown at this point. 

Focusing on PR and marketing issues as I do on the blog, I am amazed at how even today companies and organizations have so little regard for these essential skills.

This is just another example of a poor decision and of an outcome that didn't need to occur.  At what expense, if any, these actions taken yesterday by the golf club have remains to be seen.

(ed.) 5/30

See updates on the story from the Providence Journal from 5/30 - reporting the surviving chick was returned to a platform made by the golf club in a nearby tree in hope the mother would find it again.  Golf course superintendent Peter Lund placed the hawk on the platform with rescuers and DEM on hand as well as WJAR NBC 10 and the Providence Journal.

5/25

I reported on a story WJAR NBC 10 in Providence ran on the hawks.  NBC 10 got the first comment from the golf club and showed pictures of the surviving hawk at a rehab facility in Westerly, RI

Comments

[Elijah]

There is also the good possibility this tree was targeted SPECIFICALLY because it was home to the hawks. Its close proximity to the 15th tee (as mentioned above) probably generated some level of interaction between golfers and the hawks; seeing the birds/droppings, hearing them, possibly a low pass or two...

No doubt that would be enough to prompt some complaints about the 'wildlife encroaching' on the greens.

Just a thought, but it wouldn't surprise me at all.

[doug]

Perhaps a nice email campain to CVS is in order? I shop CVS all the time, but will refrain from that for one year, just due to this

[caper37]

What great photos!

I live down the street from RICC, and I never noticed the nest. I'm going to take a walk over there now to check it out. Very hard to believe that no one at the "club" noticed the nest. Spring time is obviously a terrible time to cut down trees anyway- why didn't they take care of this over the winter?

It is all about appearances- what a disgrace.

[Ajf 6]

I like your blog, because we have similar outlook and outlook on life!

[Golf Carts Tucson]

Oh my gosh! That's awful! Why did they do such act. They will terrify those naive birds!