Rescued, rehabilitated and released!

I finally have a bit of office time this afternoon which allows me to complete this blog post that I've been hoping to write for quite some time now.  We are extremely proud to have been a part of a successful rescue, rehabilitation and rescue of an American bald eagle.  The eagle was rescued from the course on Easter Sunday of this year, read more here, and was released back onto the property on Friday, June 7th by the fine folks at O.W.L.  Here are a few photos from her release:

Getting into position for the release.

She's set free!!!

And away she goes!

The release was well-attended by members and their guests and many made donations on the spot to help assure that O.W.L. can continue to provide their exceptional volunteer services to help rehabilitate and release both injured and orphaned birds.  O.W.L. is currently looking for a new facility to operate out of as it's current one has many safety concerns for the volunteers and birds due to constant flooding problems resulting in a severe mold issue.  

Flooding is threatening the efforts of the O.W.L. volunteers.

Quilchena made a $500 donation to help them in their efforts to relocate to a more suitable facility.  We will also be donating a portion of the BC Lions tickets sales, which members can purchase at a special discounted price.  For more info, please click here. 

If you'd like to make a donation, please click here.

The eagle release certainly stole the show, but those who attended also had the opportunity to see this impressive barn owl up close and personal:

"Alba" the barn owl

Drill & Fill: Improving Rootzones

We are very excited to be hosting an upcoming Drill & Fill demonstration here at Quilchena on Thursday, June 13th as part of a BCGSA Lower Mainland Chapter meeting.  This demo will be conducted on our lower putting green by Tim Kubash, Master Superintendent, from Western Rootzone.  

Tim Kubash operating the Drill & Fill

The ultimate goal of the Drill & Fill process is to over time effectively modify the turf rootzone without any major reconstruction and/or renovation.  The Drill & Fill process is much more affordable option during this time of economic instability that results in very little disruption of the playing surface.  In fact, an average-sized golf green can be completed and re-opened for play in only 3-5 hours and the recovery time for the resulting holes to heal over can take as little as a few days.  We anticipate that the recovery time of ours will be expedited with timely fertilizer applications and consistent warm weather.

We have decided upon using Profile Greens Grade soil amendment as our material of choice for filling the 12" deep and 3/4" diameter holes.  Our heavy soil greens will certainly benefit from incorporating this permanent ceramic material into them.  We have had great success in the past with correcting turf and soil problems, such as black layer, by using Profile to fill aeration holes.

Here is a video of the complete Drill & Fill procedure: