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Bird Island
Chapter 1
Balls

Patrick Fealey

The Town Council of Narragansett Island
Henry Clay Stevens, Council President
125 Narransett Avenue, Narragansett Island, RI, 02815

July 2, 1992
Thomas Risk
14 Clarke Street
Narragansett Island, RI
02815

Tom,

    I am writing to you as a concerned friend to make you aware that your crow may be in danger. I know that he is a pet to you, but he has made himself a nuisance down at the golf course, where he, along with other crows, have angered many golfers by stealing their balls.

    You may not believe me if you have not seen this. I have, since I am a member of the Narragansett Golf Club. The crows wait to make their move and then always dive after a ball that has been hit into a clear area on the fairway where they know they are out of range of anyone who might chase after them. Your crow or another will descend from the pine trees along the fairway, pick up the ball in his beak, and fly away. He flies over the fence, usually to some old stump or post, and drops it. We had a grass fire last fall and it exposed THOUSANDS of black golf balls. One player actually cried.

    The local pro said we should carry a shotgun (unloaded) in our golf bag. The crows seem to sense danger and stay away, but not your crow. He continues the game. Anyhow, we’re all out to have a round of golf, not carry weapons to scare off birds. But a handful of players have singled out your crow as a particular menace and have talked about “eliminating” him because he is fearless and smart. I believe his name is “Bird.”

    We have tried different colored golf balls – ones which do not look like eggs – and the crows love them just the same. One day a golfer brought a dead crow he had found in the road to the course and that seemed to keep them in the trees, except for one. You can guess who. I have no problem with Bird and I have shared that around the clubhouse. They’re only golf balls, it’s just a game. But I thought you should know there are golfers taking it very seriously.

Sincerely,

Henry Clay Stevens

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