Please stop driving Golf Carts around the Lakes and Retention Ponds.

[Rosebud1949]

We have lost 60% or more of our wild life in the Villages in 10 years. Carts around the ponds scare the birds away. To see carts "hanging" on the side of ponds is sad. How long will it be before one falls over and into the water. There are Gators too. WALK, its good for you and more importantly, the wild life. Stop grinding the earth into mud and dirt.

This morning at Bailey Trail, having scared the Herons away, I was asked by the driver of the "hanging cart" have you got any photo's yet... answer NO NOT NOW...

[Gpsma]

I imagine if you walk to the pond you might scare the birds away too.

You also might get bit by a gator.

Somehow I think golfcarts would not be allowed on a golf course if they were grinding the grass into mud.

[Stu from NYC]

I imagine if you walk to the pond you might scare the birds away too.

You also might get bit by a gator.

Somehow I think golfcarts would not be allowed on a golf course if they were grinding the grass into mud.

Quietly walking around a pond will not scare away the birds if you are quiet and keep your distance.

An alligator might be another story.

[swooner]

We have lost 60% or more of our wild life in the Villages in 10 years. Carts around the ponds scare the birds away. To see carts "hanging" on the side of ponds is sad. How long will it be before one falls over and into the water. There are Gators too. WALK, its good for you and more importantly, the wild life. Stop grinding the earth into mud and dirt.

This morning at Bailey Trail, having scared the Herons away, I was asked by the driver of the "hanging cart" have you got any photo's yet... answer NO NOT NOW...
Wow!

[Halehardy]

Amen & amen.

When there are no rules enforced whose going to obey them? There are rules in place for golf carts and folks laugh at them. Particularly where golf cart paths encounter natural areas or ponds.

[Topspinmo]

We have lost 60% or more of our wild life in the Villages in 10 years. Carts around the ponds scare the birds away. To see carts "hanging" on the side of ponds is sad. How long will it be before one falls over and into the water. There are Gators too. WALK, its good for you and more importantly, the wild life. Stop grinding the earth into mud and dirt.

This morning at Bailey Trail, having scared the Herons away, I was asked by the driver of the "hanging cart" have you got any photo's yet... answer NO NOT NOW...

They just fly to different pond. IMO the problem people feeding the birds bread. Good example pond by HR. The Florida chickens (Iba’s) won’t leave cause they know someone going to come by shortly and throw out some bread 🍞.

[Mleeja]

I thought a fence was put up around the pond at Bailey Trail and Buena Vista?

[Polar Bear]

Yesterday...

87137

[Mortal1]

please provide your source for the 60 percent loss of wildlife...I've a strange feeling there is no basis to your claim and that some folks just have the need to blame people for their anger.

[JoMar]

Geez folks, whether the OP is right or wrong in his or her thinking if you don't have something constructive to say why not just say nothing? Insulting people for their OPINIONS and/or thoughts seems to be the modus operandi around here way too often. It's like being in middle school all over again. So many bullies.

When you put out a statistic without backup it's there to incite others. You can have an opinion because of your belief but it should be kept to that, making stuff up serves no purpose.

[Joanne19335]

I imagine if you walk to the pond you might scare the birds away too.

You also might get bit by a gator.

Somehow I think golfcarts would not be allowed on a golf course if they were grinding the grass into mud.

Are you kidding? After a heavy rain, the restrictions include “Cart Path Only All Holes”. This includes golfers with RA permits as well. As an executive course ambassador, I am constantly reminding golfers of the restriction even though they were told at the starter shack and a sign was posted there. To hear “Nobody told me” is getting old. Also, the wildlife isn’t fond of cigarette and cigar butts either. Please be considerate of our feathered friends and our golf courses.

[tsmall22204]

Where do you come up with the 60% of wildlife? I would like to see where the numbers came from.

[Freehiker]

We have lost 60% or more of our wild life in the Villages in 10 years. Carts around the ponds scare the birds away. To see carts "hanging" on the side of ponds is sad. How long will it be before one falls over and into the water. There are Gators too. WALK, its good for you and more importantly, the wild life. Stop grinding the earth into mud and dirt.

This morning at Bailey Trail, having scared the Herons away, I was asked by the driver of the "hanging cart" have you got any photo's yet... answer NO NOT NOW...


No thanks

[davem4616]

Quietly walking around a pond will not scare away the birds if you are quiet and keep your distance.

An alligator might be another story.


Stu gators are usually low risk to humans unless you bother them...they don't need to eat every day due to their slow digestive system :icon_wink::icon_wink:

[coconutmama]

We have lost 60% or more of our wild life in the Villages in 10 years. Carts around the ponds scare the birds away. To see carts "hanging" on the side of ponds is sad. How long will it be before one falls over and into the water. There are Gators too. WALK, its good for you and more importantly, the wild life. Stop grinding the earth into mud and dirt.

This morning at Bailey Trail, having scared the Herons away, I was asked by the driver of the "hanging cart" have you got any photo's yet... answer NO NOT NOW...

I agree in principle. A moron was getting out of his golf cart to get up close & personal with a gator at the pond by Rohan yesterday. Need a sign there about Florida’s statute on feeding & aggregating alligators. The path is very close to the pond. Poor design.

No, I did not confront him. Too many nuts out there.

[johnnascar]

I agree with you, but getting people off their golf carts willgo over like a lead baloon. To half the people here, a golf cart is an extension of their body.

[Larchap49]

Are you kidding? After a heavy rain, the restrictions include “Cart Path Only All Holes”. This includes golfers with RA permits as well. As an executive course ambassador, I am constantly reminding golfers of the restriction even though they were told at the starter shack and a sign was posted there. To hear “Nobody told me” is getting old. Also, the wildlife isn’t fond of cigarette and cigar butts either. Please be considerate of our feathered friends and our golf courses.

People who think they are entitled certainly applies to a lot of people who still smoke. Entitled to dispose of their butts anywhere everywhere. Entitled to smoke wherever they want regardless of who is in the area smelling their smoke, this seems to doubly apply to Cigar smokers. Yes I was a smoker 50 years ago and remember flicking butts out the car window and dropping them wherever but it was a different world then with almost no restrictions. Others are of course those who think they are entitled to drive to their ball no matter the course condition. Those who think it is the bank tellers job to fill out their deposit slips while everyone else waits. Those who think they are entitled to cut in line whether at traffic turn lanes or stores or anywhere else. The list goes on and I doubt any criticism will be met with anything but venom so let it fly.

[JayemKing]

Geez folks, whether the OP is right or wrong in his or her thinking if you don't have something constructive to say why not just say nothing? Insulting people for their OPINIONS and/or thoughts seems to be the modus operandi around here way too often. It's like being in middle school all over again. So many bullies.

Opinions are not facts. When you state a fact you should be able to back it up. That is not bullying. It's what us grownups do.

[Rosebud1949]

I thought a fence was put up around the pond at Bailey Trail and Buena Vista?
Sadly not the one actually in Bailey, going towards Cane Garden .The one on the corner of Bailey and Buena Vista has been fenced. NO cart path round this one, , hence the concern.

[Rosebud1949]

I agree in principle. A moron was getting out of his golf cart to get up close & personal with a gator at the pond by Rohan yesterday. Need a sign there about Florida’s statute on feeding & aggregating alligators. The path is very close to the pond. Poor design.

No, I did not confront him. Too many nuts out there.
I agree with the nuts, too many here There is no "cart path" path at this pond in question hence the concern. How little folk care about wild life here.

[Bay Kid]

Ha ha. When birds fly from one pond to another they transfer fish eggs to the the other pond.

Just life. Fly, fly, up, up and away.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Amen & amen.

When there are no rules enforced whose going to obey them? There are rules in place for golf carts and folks laugh at them. Particularly where golf cart paths encounter natural areas or ponds.

Are rules in place that prohibit golf cart from driving on the grass around the ponds? Frankly I don's see where it can really do any damage.

[DeafDeaf]

I have noticed such bad situations. The golf ambassadors should give them the golf privilege terminations, of course, with the due process, to give them the chance to learn the lessons!

[dewilson58]

The golf ambassadors should give them the golf privilege terminations,


???? what is and how do you "give golf privilege terminations" ????

[graciegirl]

I have noticed such bad situations. The golf ambassadors should give them the golf privilege terminations, of course, with the due process, to give them the chance to learn the lessons!

You are usually quite concise and clear.

I am sure you know that Golf Ambassadors are not the marshals from the courses we used to use. They follow the Morse philosophy to not interfere or try to direct.

I read you on Twitter.

[DonH57]

I imagine if you walk to the pond you might scare the birds away too.

You also might get bit by a gator.

Somehow I think golfcarts would not be allowed on a golf course if they were grinding the grass into mud.

You wouldn't be surprised then when I would tell you how many idiots drive through the mud rather than stay on the golf course cart path when they get to a small puddle!:ohdear:

[EviesGP]

And that statistic comes from????? You must be a ranking member of The Audubon Society? I've only been here a couple years, and I've never seen so much aviary?! To count all those birds, must've taken a long time?

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

People who think they are entitled certainly applies to a lot of people who still smoke. Entitled to dispose of their butts anywhere everywhere. Entitled to smoke wherever they want regardless of who is in the area smelling their smoke, this seems to doubly apply to Cigar smokers. Yes I was a smoker 50 years ago and remember flicking butts out the car window and dropping them wherever but it was a different world then with almost no restrictions. Others are of course those who think they are entitled to drive to their ball no matter the course condition. Those who think it is the bank tellers job to fill out their deposit slips while everyone else waits. Those who think they are entitled to cut in line whether at traffic turn lanes or stores or anywhere else. The list goes on and I doubt any criticism will be met with anything but venom so let it fly. entitled PEOPLE who bother you I estimate that’s 60 % of the population

[Pairadocs]

We have lost 60% or more of our wild life in the Villages in 10 years. Carts around the ponds scare the birds away. To see carts "hanging" on the side of ponds is sad. How long will it be before one falls over and into the water. There are Gators too. WALK, its good for you and more importantly, the wild life. Stop grinding the earth into mud and dirt.

This morning at Bailey Trail, having scared the Herons away, I was asked by the driver of the "hanging cart" have you got any photo's yet... answer NO NOT NOW...

Was not thinking of permanent damage to wildlife, but last night was on the way to Publix in the cart and noticed at the retention pond just past the Bonnybrook pool/postal station on the same side of street when I noticed a woman fishing /rod & reel casting. Pretty normal sight, but...... had "parked" the golf cart literally AT the edge of the pond where it was actually wet and muddy and the cart was at such an angle tipping toward the pond I was actually worried is she was aware of just how much the cart was tipped toward the pond; it was parked parallel, not front facing the pond, and both wheels on the pond side were visibly "sunk" much lower than the two on the other side. Just didn't seem logical, or even possible, to get a cart that close on ground that slops to such a steep degree ! Not a "troll" type, did stop for a few seconds to make sure I was seeing correctly, but did not take pictures..... not into shaming people, just a little afraid that she didn't seem to notice how extreme the cart was leaning !

[jimjamuser]

They just fly to different pond. IMO the problem people feeding the birds bread. Good example pond by HR. The Florida chickens (Iba’s) won’t leave cause they know someone going to come by shortly and throw out some bread 🍞.
I seem to remember (from a long time ago) reading that BREAD was actually hard for birds to digest and therefore, bad for them? I do NOT know this for sure - I am just throwing it out there - maybe someone knows definitively? it is obvious that the birds enjoy the bread.

[dewilson58]

I seem to remember (from a long time ago) reading that BREAD was actually hard for birds to digest and therefore, bad for them? I do NOT know this for sure - I am just throwing it out there - maybe someone knows definitively? it is obvious that the birds enjoy the bread.
Google is your friend:
Although bread isn't harmful to birds, try not to offer it in large quantities, since its nutritional value is relatively low. ... Unsoaked bread can swell up in their stomachs and kill them. Dry chunks of bread will choke baby birds, and a chick on a diet of bread may not develop into a healthy fledgling.

[Stu from NYC]

Stu gators are usually low risk to humans unless you bother them...they don't need to eat every day due to their slow digestive system :icon_wink::icon_wink:

Just my luck I come across a hungry one hiding in the bushes waiting for dinner to walk by

[Topspinmo]

please provide your source for the 60 percent loss of wildlife...I've a strange feeling there is no basis to your claim and that some folks just have the need to blame people for their anger.

Probably going by the the land that was bulldozed for development?

[Topspinmo]

Google is your friend:
Although bread isn't harmful to birds, try not to offer it in large quantities, since its nutritional value is relatively low. ... Unsoaked bread can swell up in their stomachs and kill them. Dry chunks of bread will choke baby birds, and a chick on a diet of bread may not develop into a healthy fledgling.


Crows will take anything crunchy and soak it it nearby water. Course crows are as dumb as most think.

[kcrazorbackfan]

We have lost 60% or more of our wild life in the Villages in 10 years. Carts around the ponds scare the birds away. To see carts "hanging" on the side of ponds is sad. How long will it be before one falls over and into the water. There are Gators too. WALK, its good for you and more importantly, the wild life. Stop grinding the earth into mud and dirt.

This morning at Bailey Trail, having scared the Herons away, I was asked by the driver of the "hanging cart" have you got any photo's yet... answer NO NOT NOW...

I too share your thoughts on this. It’s a lot different with everyone riding on the same area with their carts around the ponds vs. the golf courses.

I wish all the ponds would be fenced off to only allow walkers access to the ponds. But, the privileged/entitled would raise hell if that happened.

[Byte1]

I too share your thoughts on this. It’s a lot different with everyone riding on the same area with their carts around the ponds vs. the golf courses.

I wish all the ponds would be fenced off to only allow walkers access to the ponds. But, the privileged/entitled would raise hell if that happened.

Now wouldn't that look great, the ponds with fences around them? What kind of fences would give the "privileged/entitled" that warm and fuzzy feeling? Perhaps chain link, or wood plank, or perhaps split rail? How about barbed wire? I agree that some on here feel "privileged/entitled" and think that their way is the right way.

Would the fence idea extend to all the ponds on the golf courses? Guess a lot of golf balls would be lost, huh?

This is so much fun, isn't it? :a040: :a040: :clap2:

[Joe V.]

I too share your thoughts on this. It’s a lot different with everyone riding on the same area with their carts around the ponds vs. the golf courses.

I wish all the ponds would be fenced off to only allow walkers access to the ponds. But, the privileged/entitled would raise hell if that happened.


So, then only walkers would be the entitled ones.

[NavyVet]

I don't think so. I am off now to park by the pond and listen to some metal on my USB speakers in the cart.

Don't forget to pop open a beer and light a doobie while you're there! LOL
:1rotfl:

[jimjamuser]

Google is your friend:
Although bread isn't harmful to birds, try not to offer it in large quantities, since its nutritional value is relatively low. ... Unsoaked bread can swell up in their stomachs and kill them. Dry chunks of bread will choke baby birds, and a chick on a diet of bread may not develop into a healthy fledgling.
Thank you Mr. Helpful. That was very helpful and confirming.

[jimjamuser]

Crows will take anything crunchy and soak it it nearby water. Course crows are as dumb as most think.
Crows are the smartest of the birds, I believe.