Birdy tries to hatch hoard of golf balls

Electronic Telegraph ^ | September 8, 2001 | Richard Savill

[sarcasm]

A YOUNG bird of prey has been discovered trying to hatch a collection of lost golf balls in the mistaken belief that they are her eggs.

Sybil, a six-month-old seriema running bird, crept off with the balls from a field next to her aviary at the New Forest Owl Sanctuary in Ringwood, Hants. She took them one by one to her nest, where she has spent the past two weeks protecting them.

Her keeper, Peter Berry, who uses the field as a driving range to practise his golf, was suspicious when his balls began disappearing. He said: "Despite her young age, Sybil has recently been displaying some maternal instincts.

"But I never thought she would take them so far. At about the time I was losing my balls, I noticed some changes in her. She was fairly quiet and would hardly leave her aviary. She seemed on edge whenever I approached her.

"It was only when I went to feed her that I realised what she was doing. I dropped a piece of meat in front of her and when she got up to get it I spotted my golf balls. I was stunned and at first thought someone had put them there.

"But Sybil has a free run of the flying field and could easily have run out while I was up the other end." Seriema birds, which have a 3ft wingspan, are members of the stork family and are flightless.

They are native to South America and in the wild do not start breeding until they are two years old. Mr Berry said he would try to retrieve his golf balls by enticing Sybil off her nest with food.

[sarcasm]

.

[mountaineer]

Is that a Titleist?

[TheLion]

She will be an old birdie, when these hatch!

[dighton]

Seriema page

PGA

[SunnyUsa]

"At about the time I was losing my balls, I noticed some changes in her"

Isn't that always Nature's way!

[sarcasm]

No comment on the second sentence of the fourth paragraph?

[LarryLied]

Had a Kerry Blue Terrier who thought rocks were her puppies. She guarded rocks day and night. She would carry 3 and 4 pounds rocks with drool running out of her mouth to put new rocks next to the others she had collected. When she had puppies, she was more interested in getting back to her rocks than nursing her pups.

This dog had problems.

[mountaineer]

bump

[sarcasm]

I guess that I shouldn't make comments about pets taking on the attributes of their owners.

[Frohickey]

Had a Kerry Blue Terrier who thought rocks were her puppies. She guarded rocks day and night. She would carry 3 and 4 pounds rocks with drool running out of her mouth to put new rocks next to the others she had collected. When she had puppies, she was more interested in getting back to her rocks than nursing her pups.

Sounds like some of the crack-cocaine addicted welfare moms out there.

[dighton]

No comment on the second sentence of the fourth paragraph?

Ah. Poor fellow.

[LarryLied]

I guess that I shouldn't make comments about pets taking on the attributes of their owners.

Probably so. This happened when I was in HS in the late 60's. My Kerry Blue Terrier could have been listening to Hendrix, trying to seduce Catholic-school terriers and growing pot in her doghouse. Or worse.

[blam]

Rock Hound?

[LarryLied]

You want an education in how depraved birds can be? These fine feathered friends not only are rock hounds, they prostitute themselves to get the best rocks.

Penguins learn how to p-pick up a bit on the side

[blam]

LOL The first recorded examples of bird prostitution have been observed in colonies of Adelie penguins on Ross Island, about 800 miles from the South Pole, by Dr Fiona Hunter of Cambridge University and Dr Lloyd Davis of the University of Otago, supported by the New Zealand Antarctic Programme.

They observed how male Adelies pay for sexual favours with rocks and stones, a limited resource that can prove crucial for the survival of broods. In no other bird have such extra-marital exchanges been recorded, said Dr Hunter, a post-doctoral researcher who has made annual visits to Antarctica to study their sex life.

[Orual]

She must be feeling a little under par.

[Phantom Lord]

Never had a bird steal my balls before. I did have dog take my ball and drop it in a pond one time. Plus it was "The Course Dog." Meaning, the owners dog. I am sure he was trained to do it and they retreive them from the pond and sell them in the pro shop.

One course that I play with my father a lot has a cat on the 5th hole on the left side. It is OB on the left and it is lined with houses. Well, this cat loves to run out into the fairway and grab my dads ball and take it OB and leave it there.