After several members were attacked last year and a new nesting season has brought more incidents, Orange Tree GC in Orlando is warning players to avoid areas where the birds have been seen and to carry umbrellas and wear hats. Reports have also surfaced of attacks in area neighborhoods and at libraries and university campuses.
Orange Tree Golf Club in Orlando, Fla. is warning members about aggressive nesting hawks on their course that have a history of attacking members, ClickOrlando.com reported.
“Spring is nesting season for hawks, so birds are coming together to build nests and families,” Dianna Flynt, Rehabiliation Supervisor for Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, told ClickOrlando.com. “Nesting season is the only time of year that hawks are aggressive, because they are trying to protect their nest and see humans as predators.”
Shannon Wisne Helton, Orange Tree GC’s Membership Director, told ClickOrlando.com that three or four members were attacked by the nesting hawks last year, with one woman needing to get staples in her head for the wound.
“Hawks attack with their feet, so often they will scratch the skulls,” Flynt said.
While it is unknown how many incidents have occurred so far this year, Suzanne Scherfer told a local television station that she was attacked by a hawk recently during a walk on the Orange Tree property, ClickOrlando.com reported.
“I saw the hawk while I was walking, then I felt something hit me in the head pretty hard. I fell to the ground and screamed and the hawk let go of me,” Scherfer said.
The signs on the golf course, which read “Caution: Aggressive nesting hawks in area. Take an alternate walking route. Umbrella advisable!” were posted on trees a couple of days after her attack, Scherfer said. “A lot of people didn’t believe me about the attack,” she said. “I want to get my story out to help other people.”
Because hawks and their nests are protected under law, the golf course cannot legally remove the nest, ClickOrlando.com reported. So the club is doing all it can to warn players. It also posted a photo of the warning sign on its Facebook page, along with this additional message: “Beware, it is hawk-nesting time of year again, and the hawks may be territorial. They have been known to dive down and hit neighbors and members, causing cuts and even stitches to the scalp. Please stay aware. A suggested protection solution is to use an umbrella in areas marked with hawk activity.”
When someone is attacked, Flynt told ClickOrlando.com, the wound should be immediately cleaned and further medical treatment should be sought, depending on its severity. While hawks do not carry any disease, their talons can carry bacteria that can lead to infection, Flynt noted.
In addition to its report on the incidents and response at Orange Tree GC, ClickOrlando.com had related stories on how hawks had also “attacked” Florida State University students and faculty, “dive-bombed” library patrons in Port Orange, Fla. and “terrorized” a Winter Springs, Fla. neighborhood.
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