One of the herons was sitting on a nest and the other heron had some well grown juveniles which were not yet fledged. When I returned five days later, the herons and even their young, who were too immature to fly, were all gone.

I became convinced that the Island between the 2nd and 12th holes of the East Course, which for at least 20 years has been the rearing ground for many federally endangered and protected species of birds, had suffered a catastrophic interference to its environment. This had resulted in the Wood Storks, Great Blue Herons, Tri-colored Herons, Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Anhingas and Cormorants, all of whom had started to nest, totally abandoning the entire site.

I contacted our General manager, Derrick Barnett, and the BallenIsles agronomist met with me on the golf course to evaluate the situation. I was assured that no staff at BallenIsles had been on the island. It was agreed that the situation appeared serious and that they would report it to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.   The commission sent two regional biologists to the site who used a boat to examine conditions on the island.

Apart from the still mysterious but quite apparent illegal trimming of the underbrush on the island, there was considerable evidence that raccoons have infested the area. The regional biologist involved has seen some similar sites and was sure that the increase in raccoon population and activity is the result of residents feeding feral cats on Club property which encourages the raccoon population to also feed. It is hoped that the cessation of the feeding of feral cats together with rapidly taking the remedial action that will be recommended will result in the return of at least some of these wonderful birds which are such a delight to so many of us.