For the birds

Brian Beckner glows. The 42-year-old former golf course superintendent radiates so much positive energy anyone around him can’t help but be moved by his enthusiasm, wonder and sheer joy. Talk to him for any length of time and pretty soon you’ll be glowing, too.

Beckner loves his job and it shows. After 20 years on the management end of golf courses, he found his calling in a unique niche that allows him to enjoy the beauty on the courses and the camaraderie among superintendents while avoiding the stresses that accompany the job.

Beckner builds bird houses.

Well, there is much more to the career he has carved out for himself. He might be called a golf course ornithological consultant. Or a wildlife tour coordinator. Rather, all of the above are true. “I’m living the dream,” he says.

Like many superintendents, Beckner grew up with golf in his life. He golfed as a youngster, but being outdoors was the great lure. “There was a 1,000 acres surrounding the golf course, and I would often toss the clubs aside and go wandering in the woods,” he recalls. A charming picture from his youth shows a beaming boy showing off a birdhouse he built himself.

While in Texas Christian University studying to be a CPA, he took a “leap of faith” and found a job as a general laborer on a golf course. “I had played and caddied, but I never considered working on course maintenance,” he says. “I loved it.”

The job led him to classes in plant pathology, horticulture and eventually a degree in golf course management. After graduating and working at Shady Oaks Golf Club in Fort Worth, Texas, a former classmate told him about a job in Naples, Fla.

With family in the area, Beckner made the move in 1996, working as the assistant superintendent at Wildcat Run Country Club for a short stint. “Then I accepted the assistant superintendent job at The Club Pelican Bay in Naples, where I had the incredible opportunity working under Robert Bittner, CGCS for five years,” he recalls. In 2001, he landed his “dream job” as superintendent at La Playa Beach and Golf Club in Naples.

As his career progressed, so did his woodworking hobby. Beckner was always interested in wildlife and the outdoors and began learning about the birds on his course. First, it was simple identification, which then grew into learning about habitat, nesting, migration and the whole fascinating world of birding. Now, he can identify a bird just by the sound it makes.

His outgoing personality also made him pursue membership – and eventually leadership – in the Everglades Golf Course Superintendents Association. He became a board member and president of the association, which increased his local network and resulted in many friendships and eventual business contacts.

Beckner worked a dozen years on the course, but always felt there was something more he wanted from his career. A local wildlife enthusiast, George McBath, had spent many years in the region supplying birdhouses and enhancing avian habitats at local courses. “He would help us with our Audubon certifications and give wildlife tours, and I thought it was so cool he actually made a living doing what he did,” Beckner says.

As McBath started phasing out his services to pursue retirement, Beckner took a hard look at his own career. “A lightbulb went on in my head,” he says. “Here was a chance to take an opportunity. I had the woodworking skills, which had been a hobby all my life, plus my professional development skills from my work in golf course management. I had to go for it. All the stars lined up at the right time.”

Beckner was married with two children, and credits his wife for her support and encouragement to follow his dream. With only a small withdrawal from his retirement savings, he took yet another leap of faith to start Native Bird Boxes in the fall of 2013. “It’s a very humbling experience, walking away from guaranteed income and full benefits,” Beckner says.

Long hours, hard work and perseverance are paying off. Now in spring 2015, he’s built, installed and now manages 2,500 birdhouses throughout golf courses and communities in Southern Florida. But one of his favorite parts of his job is conducting wildlife tours.

“I can take a single-digit handicapper and show them the course in a way they have never seen it before,” he says. “Those have been some of the most rewarding conversations I’ve had.”

“He’s very passionate about what he does,” says Brad Haynes, superintendent at The Club at Olde Cypress in Naples. “He’s an extremely good speaker and gives a great presentation on wildlife on the course.”

Haynes is working on getting Olde Cypress certified as an Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary, and knew Beckner through his involvement with Everglades GCSA. “It was a matter of time and expertise,” Haynes says. “Instead of me trying to buy materials and build boxes, it made sense to have a professional do it.”

“After he built and installed our boxes last summer, I wasn’t really sure if we would get any birds,” Haynes admits. But now he’s excited to note about a dozen purple martin fledglings, plus three bluebird nests.

“I was happy for Brian to start the business and help us spread the word that a golf course can be a true sanctuary amidst urban sprawl,” says Bill Davison, CGCS, superintendent at the Country Club of Naples. Davison’s course was already an Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary, but the membership was relatively unaware of its significance.

“We didn’t have any wildlife tours or events,” Davison says. “Now Brian comes out monthly or bi-monthly, depending on the season. The members really love it. He helps them understand the stewardship side of the job we do.”

For Beckner, environmental stewardship is his focus. Making people aware of their connection to wildlife and the landscape that surrounds them brings a smile to his face and joy to his heart. “Since I was 18 years old, I’ve always punched a clock or been responsible for a golf facility at someone’s beck and call,” he says. “All the sudden that special star shot in front of me and bingo! There it was. When you find that opportunity in life to take a leap of faith, I would encourage anybody to go for it.”

Helen Stone is a West Coast horticulture writer and a frequent GCI contributor.