During the month of October, I visited the same place as I did in September, Roy Kizer Golf Course. In my previous blog, I mentioned how during certain seasons many of the species that live at that golf course will come out, even in the midst of a busy day. These animals have adapted to being around human beings in return for food and shelter. Many of these species are very fond of the grass seeds that maintenance workers at the golf course spread along the grass.
On this particular cloudy day, I was able to see many species that sometimes come out for the public to observe. One of the species I observed were ducks. At Roy Kizer, there are many families of ducks. Throughout my time working here I have witnessed several ducklings be born and turn into full size, adult swimming ducks. I was luckily able to capture some of this action.
Another popular species that can be found at Roy Kizer that live among the ponds and can sometimes be seen walking along the fairways are turtles. I have witnessed many snapping turtles as well as Softshell turtles. These softshell turtles move very quickly when surrounded by humans.
Cranes are also very common at Roy Kizer. They are less skittish and worried about the golfers. They can usually be seen in the ponds, however, are sometimes found on the grass such as on this particular day.
One species in particular that I rarely have seen at Roy Kizer is this type of hawk. I have yet to find out what kind of hawk it is. It stays far away from humans and other animals. It was very strange that I was able to get so close to this hawk while observing for my October blog.
Although the Octobers in Texas remain at a very warm temperature, it will be interesting to see what happens in the future to certain ecosystems due to the cold. It is uncertain whether I will be able to observe so many species such as ducks, turtles, cranes, and haws at Roy Kizer golf course as a result. This poses the question on whether the climate or environmental factors have a greater effect on this particular ecosystem than humans.
I have chosen the following quote for my October blog because it reminds me of the golfing industry and how many golfers and maintenance workers lack knowledge of the ecosystem surrounding them. This results in many changes of the species’ environments during the year in order to make the consumers in the golfing industry happy.
“Civilization has so cluttered this elemental man-earth relationship with gadgets and middlemen that awareness of it is growing dim. We fancy that industry supports us, forgetting what supports industry.”
