Harrison Bay Eaglets HB15 and HB16 Hatch

If you have not heard by now, we have two new residents at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  HB15, hatched on 4/15/20, and HB16, hatched on 4/18/20, have joined the family.  We are about a month behind schedule due to the tree and nest hoping that occurred earlier this year but we are happy they are here; happy and healthy.

We got our first look at HB15 early on Wednesday morning when Elliott, ready to see his kid, rolled HB15 out of his half open egg. Sometimes a parent just has to give their child a nudge. As you can see in the picture HB15 is ready to eat and grow up to be big and strong.

Here is a good look at the pip in HB16's egg.  The eaglet has a sharp egg tooth on the top of its beak which it will use to scratch the inside of the egg to create a small hole.  From there it is a continuous process of breaking out small pieces of the egg until the hatch occurs.





So we are happy to welcome our newest residents to the property.  Congratulations to Athena and Elliott on this years brood and we are hoping for many more years to come.

Of course sibling rivalries happen in every household and even day old eaglets have their disagreements.  This is a common occurrence in nests and rarely results in harm or damage to the eaglets.  It is a sign of dominance over the other eaglet to ensure one is fed first.  I am confident HB16 will not let HB15 get away with this much longer as he/she gains strength and confidence.


I would like to thank Sue Yungwirth and Pamela Crosby, two long time moderators for HBEC, for the great screen captures used in this blog.

We are very sorry that we can not provide you with a streaming service of the nest this year.  The best  location for updates and pictures/videos of the nest will be either on the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HarrisonBayEagleCam/  or The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay Twitter page https://twitter.com/BearTraceHB

We will do all we can to keep you up to date on the nest activities and the growth and health of HB15/16 as we can.

Looking Back on 2019

It has been a while since our last blogpost.  Close to a year to be exact which has been noticed by many and commented on by several.  My apologies for not updating the blog more regularly this year.  It has been a year of new adventures for me as I have stepped into my role as a Director on the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America board of directors.  I am extremely thankful for our amazing agronomy staff who pour their passion and dedication into the conditioning of the course and allow me the opportunity to serve the golf industry as I enjoy doing.

The 2019 growing season was one of the best in recent memory.  Even with all the rain in the spring and the drought in the summer our agronomy team continued to provide excellent conditions for our golfers and guests. One of the changes in our cultural practices that we began a few years ago and is really starting to pay dividends is the application of our topdressing sand using push broadcast spreaders instead of the vehicle mounted spinner style we used to use.  This practice has allowed us to apply the proper amount of sand needed by our greens without affecting the play of the greens and has been widely received by our golfers as an excellent practice.

National Golf Day was a new venture for me this year as I joined with hundreds of other golf industry professionals from around the country in Washington DC for two days to promote the benefits of golf.  Representatives from GCSAA, PGA, USGA, Club Managers Association, Golf Course Architects, Golf Course Builders, Golf Course Owners and many other associations came together to give back to our nation through a Community Service Project where we performed landscape and turfgrass renovation projects, planted flowers, and made irrigation repairs on the National Mall.  The work performed was recognized by the National Park Service as the Outstanding Group Volunteer Service Project of the year.  On the second day we divided and conquered Capitol Hill as representatives from each state met with members of Congress to promote the benefits of the game of golf.  I, along with Brad Marcy, GCS at Indian Hills GC in Murfreesboro and Michael Seabrook, GM, at Belle Meade CC in Nashville had the pleasure of speaking with Senators Alexander and Blackburn and Congressmen Desjarlais, Fleischmann, and Cooper.  It was a great experience and I look forward to returning in May for National Golf Day 2020.

Summer closure for aerification went perfectly this year as our staff was able to perform the needed cultural practices to the course.  We were able to perform core aerification to the greens in multiple directions removing organic matter, relieving compaction, and allowing for increased oxygen exchange.  Aerification is always one of the practices that is frowned upon by most all golfers but I think, or at least I hope, we have shown over the years that by performing these practices in the time and manner we do that we can provide the high quality putting surfaces our golfers and guests demand with only a limited disturbance in the golfing season.

We were able to make a few improvements or renovations to the course this year but mostly spent our time maintaining and conditioning the course for play.  Projects such as crosstie curbing, protective matting on the bridges for our walking guests, sod work at parking areas were among the projects we completed but the project we enjoyed the most, and was appreciated by the golfers the most, was the bunker renovation project on #13 fairway.  This bunker had been an eyesore for many years and could not be kept in playing condition due to the direct inflow of water which contaminated the sand. That situation was remedied and we now have a nice looking and great functioning bunker.

Our environmental programs are still one of the best parts of our golf course and this year was no different.  We had a new female in our Harrison Bay Eagle Cam nest which was given the name Athena.  She and Elliott fledged two more eaglets into the wild.  Our cameras experienced issues again this year so we didn't get to see them hatch and grow up but we are working on the system for this year and should be up and running in time for us all to enjoy this years brood.  The course continues to be a haven for deer, turkey, raccoons, all manner of small woodland creatures and a plethora of birds and insects.  When people ask me what the best part of my job is, seeing the wildlife live and thrive in partnership with all the activities on the golf course is the first and easiest answer for me.

As all good things have to come to an end, Bill Greene retired from service to the golf course this fall.  Bill has been instrumental in maintaining the golf course for many years, and although he did a great job at that, his biggest contribution to the course was his ability, and willingness, to work on many of our environmental projects such as the mallard duck nesting tubes, the wood duck nesting boxes, deer and turkey feeders, and the Bobwhite quail restoration project.  Bill also used his carpentry skills to provide many of the course accessories our golfers enjoy on a daily basis, along with helping with the new front entrance sign and wood fencing which greets our guests.  Enjoy your second retirement and your new home, Bill.

As we look back to 2019, the successes of the golf course and the enjoyment our golfers and guests enjoy would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of the agronomy staff.  They are a small group but one that is determined to provide the best possible conditions we can provide no matter how much rain we receive or how hot it is.  I am very grateful for this group and especially for the leadership Willie Hamby has shown in running the many day to day operations of the course.

Thank you to everyone who played or visited our course this year.  We hope you enjoyed your time on the course as much as we do every day and we hope to see you in 2020.  We have some cool projects we are hoping to complete this winter, so come back and see us, and I will do my best to update the blog more regularly in 2020.

Engaging Young Golfers with Landseer Communication Activity Books

Last week we received our order of activity books from Landseer Communications and we could not be happier.  We have been looking for some time for a way to engage younger golfers/people to the beauty and environmental stewardship opportunities that can be found on a golf course.  The activity books are extremely high quality with great illustrations and descriptions of the wildlife and projects that can be found at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  Simple and to the point these books will provide a guide or reference to the wildlife, birds, insects, and activities that can be found on our golf course.

One of the features in the activity books was a tribute to Eloise, our first female eagle that we lost last year.  This feature is a great way to highlight all the excitement and fun we had watching her and Elliott build their nest, raise their family, and bring a great deal of publicity and fame to our golf course.  It was heartbreaking to loose her as we did but she will be remembered by many for years to come through these books.

Another page area that we chose to feature is our Bobwhite quail restoration project which has turned out quite nice.  The quail are hard to see, as they are very elusive and don't like to be around people, but if you sit still out near #5 tee complex where they were released you might get lucky and hear them calling to each other.

There are 16 pages of coloring pages and activities, such as Nature Bingo, in our book which can give a preview of what someone can look for during their round or show off what all they found around the course.  The pages are individual and specific to each property with special write-ups to highlight information about the bird, insect, animal, or project.

Delphine Tseng is the owner of Landseer Communication, the designer and publisher of these great activity books.  She has a passion for the environment and getting young people involved in our sport and appreciating all the beauty and activities golf courses have to offer, and her level of enthusiasm can't be matched.  I would encourage anyone that wishes to create a fantastic community outreach project to contact Delphine or visit Landseer Communication at https://www.landseercc.com.

We will be distributing these activity books to school children during our The First Green field trips which we will be hosting this spring.  If you would like one we have placed a few up at the clubhouse with Robin. The Friends of Harrison Bay State Park also published a book for Harrison Bay State Park which is available at the Interpretive Center or the A-Frame at the park.  If you would like to give a small donation to help offset printing costs that would be much appreciated as well.

Triplets at the HBEC Nest for 2019

The Harrison Bay Eagle Cam project has been a source of great joy and of sadness.  Last year we lost our original female Eloise (Remembering Eloise) leaving the nest empty for a while.  Throughout the spring three females tried to claim the nest and the handsome and dashing Elliott as their own, but it was not until our new female came along that a new HBEC queen could be crowned.

Our new queen of the nest has been named Athena and has taken over right where Eloise left off.  She has many of the same traits or characteristics that made us all fall in love with Eloise such as having a prominent brow which gives her a fierce look, to keeping airspace near the nest clear of any other females trying to stake their claim on her nest or her "man", to making sure Elliott knows exactly where the nesting material goes, no matter where he thinks it should.

On Tuesday afternoon 1/22/19 a little after 4:00 PM Athena laid her first egg at the Harrison Bay nest.  As with any eagle in the wild it is virtually impossible to know if this is her first egg every laid but she did struggle a bit which lead our expert moderators to speculate that it was.

Here is a video from our moderator Suzie-O which shows the laying process of egg #1

On Friday afternoon Athena laid her second egg which seemed to be a little easier on her.  Both her and Elliott have, and will, take turns caring for the eggs as they keep them warm and turn the eggs periodically to keep the embryo from sticking to the insides of the egg.  It is delicate process that makes many of use worry but we have to trust that the eagles know exactly what they are doing.

Well much to our surprise on Monday evening we were graced with a third egg from Athena.  Three eggs in a single nest is not completely uncommon but is rare and since the nest was constructed in the fall of 2010 Eloise had only ever laid two eggs at a single time.  We are very thrilled and excited about the opportunity to witness three eaglets being raised but it will also increase the need for food, shelter from the elements, and the inevitable sibling rivalries and bonking which will make all viewers uneasy and is the leading cause to hatchling death in a multiple egg nest.

As always we welcome everyone to join us in viewing the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam project at

Harrison Bay Eagle Cam

We are still buttoning up some technical issues which will make the experience even better throughout the year.

We would like to thank our great moderators who operate the site and the cameras and keep all the chatters informed and in line.

We would also like to thank Golf Course Industry magazine, Aquatrols, and Syngenta US for their sponsorship of the project this year.  Without financial support from our friends this view into the life of a bald eagle nest would not be possible.

Remembering Eloise--The First Lady of HBEC

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Eloise, the original female bald eagle at the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam project.  She was spotted on the nest cam Saturday with an injury under her right wing.  On Sunday Harrison Bay State Park rangers responded to a local land owner reporting an eagle in distress.  She was captured and taken to the University of Tennessee Veterinary College for treatment but did not survive her injuries.

We have, as viewers of HBEC, had the distinct pleasure of watching her care for her nest and territory.  From watching her direct her mate Elliott as to where each and every stick should be placed around the nest perimeter to carefully and delicately rolling her eggs and feeding her chicks without the slightest chance of injury to them with her razor sharp beak or talons to protecting her nest from predators or other eagles that would like to take over, it has been a true gift to witness this.

Since 2010 Eloise has laid 12 eggs of which 10 successfully hatched and fledged from our nest to take to the skies and fly free.  Along that path we have had several close calls or frights including the premature branching and fledging of HB5 which lead to a capture and rehabilitation stint at the American Eagle Foundation before being released back at the golf course.  HB5 Flies Free Again

Watching Eloise care for her eaglets was a tremendous honor.  There were so many times where she would shelter them from rain and snow and stay awake all night long to make sure they were safe and sound.  It has truly been a blessing to get to see this magnificent animal in its natural environment and she will not soon be forgotten.

As many of you may remember Eloise left the nest last year and was replaced by Eliza.  Why this happened no one knows and we feared the worst but hoped for the best and we were all thrilled when she returned this year to reclaim her rightful place as the queen of HBEC.

Photo by Bret Douglas

Our eagle cam is a glimpse into nature at its rawest form.  We have witnessed all the elements that makes life, life.  From birth to death, caring to pain,  anger to love, all of these elements have been on direct display and many of them hurt.  We will miss seeing Eloise "boss" Elliott around about where to place the "furnishings" around the nest, seeing her care for her eaglets in the tender caring way she did, and being taken back by that distinct, heavy browed stare she had.

The Harrison Bay Eagle Cam (http://harrisonbayeaglecam.org) will continue to function as an educational conduit to allow interested viewers to garner a view of an active bald eagle nest in the wild.  Elliott, as his natural instincts tell him to continue his species, has returned to the nest this afternoon with Eliza, the female that took Eloise's place last year.  We can only hope for continued success of the nest and for many more eaglets to be fledged in the years to come to fill the skies.

Photo by Bret Douglas

Fly Free Eloise

We will miss you dearly

That's a Wrap on 2017

As we put the greens under the covers to protect them from the freezing weather coming into the Chattanooga area to finish off 2017 we take a look back at what was a fantastic year.  We would like to thank all our loyal customers who made the year so successful and all the new comers who gave the golf course a chance, we hope you will all return next year.  To the Bear Trace at Harrison Bay staff, THANKS could not begin to express the appreciation we have for all your dedication and hard work.

There were many renovations or improvements to the golf course this year with the renovation of the front entrance sign kicking the year off. Front Entrance Face Lift Part 1 and Part 2  Other improvements around the course were the new bag racks for the driving range built by Bill Greene, limbing up of trees and creating walkway paths through the native grass areas, to new fencing around the golf course to replace the old split rail fencing.

After all the issues we had with our greens coming out of dormancy in 2016 Greens issue in 2016 we were thrilled with the conditions of the greens, and the golf course as a whole, this year.  The hours of blood, sweat, and tears poured into the golf course by our fantastic agronomy staff lead by Assistant Golf Course Superintendent Willie Hamby really began to shine and the course was the best it has been in as many years as I can remember.  

Summer Aerification of 2017 went off without a hitch and was the most productive we have ever had at Harrison Bay.  Over the five days we were closed we were able to perform many much needed cultural practices to improve the course including creating over 18 million new breathing holes in the greens, scalped down over 10 acres of tees and green surrounds to provide for better playing surfaces, sliced over 32 acres of fairways with the Aerway shatter tine aerifier, and applied over 150 tons of sand to greens, tees and surrounds to provide smoother, better draining, and better playing surfaces.  

On the environmental front, the beauty and peacefulness of our course was clearly evident again this year.  From the new fawns that curiously watched us go about our day, to the fledging of HB 11 and HB 12 from the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project, to renewing our environmental certification with Golf Environment Organization the benefits of being stewards of the environment were numerous.  We were honored this year to have our Electric Equipment Initiative featured in GCSAA's Golf Course Management magazine Can You Hear Me Now?.  

The future is bright and we are very much looking forward to another prosperous year in 2018.  We will continue to work to improve the conditions and playability of the course.  We have several projects in mind for this upcoming year including new fencing around the parking lot and front entrance, sod work on areas near #2 green and along the cart path on #16, bunker renovations as funds present themselves, and continued work on our greens to make them the best they can possibly be.  

Thank you again to everyone who made 2017 successful and we hope you and yours had a great year and we wish you nothing but the best in 2018.

Harrison Bay Eagle Cam 2017 Season Takes Flight

After a very frustrating season last year, HBEC Experiencing Technical Issues, where we lost all communication to the PTZ camera in the top of the tree.  We are happy to announce that after a lot of hard work on the part of a lot of people and a tremendous amount of patience by our supporters and chatters, the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project is back up and running.  We are hoping that this year will be much more successful and will not have the issues we have experienced in the past.

Earlier this fall Angelo came down to the course and removed all the equipment from the top of the tree.  The equipment was inspected for damage but none was found.  We can't really say why the camera stopped communicating but we believe it was a wiring issue going up the tree.  In the past the wires were not protected from things that could have damaged them like an animal chewing through them.  This year all cables were run in flexible conduit all the way from control box to camera.  We also purchased a secondary camera which is also mounted in the nest tree which will serve as a backup, complete with its own microphone and infrared light.  Live and learn!!!

We get asked a lot about what all it takes to provide this great and unique experience and it takes a lot.  It takes a lot of time, planning, work, and expertise.  To the right is a photo of the communication and power connections at the base of the tree.  There is a lot of stuff going on in this photo including fiber optic conversion, IP camera Power over Ethernet adapters, data switchers, microphone power injectors, and more.  This is not your average "plug and play" set up.  So if you want to start a streaming website program I am not discouraging you, I'm just letting you know you can't go down to your local Walmart and pick this package up.

So let's give some credit to the people that make this project work.  Matt Vawter, pictured with Mr. Jim Morgan of The Friends of Harrison Bay State Park, is a Park Ranger at Harrison Bay State Park and is the brains behind the entire project.  Without Matt being willing and able to create our website, determine which equipment was needed and how to make it all work, and be able to program the cameras to get out to the internet we would all be looking at a blank screen.  When you sit around your computer screen and enjoy the eaglets hatching out of their eggs it is because of Matt's hard work.

The other piece to the puzzle is Angelo Giansante. Angelo is the Park Manager at Hiwassee Ocoee Scenic River State Park and has been involved in the project since the beginning.  Angelo is in charge of installing and maintaining the cameras and everything else up in the top of the tree.  Without hesitation when we call and ask Angelo to come down and climb the 100' to the nest he never turns us down and says it is one of the best projects he's worked on.  So much like Matt when you are enjoying the sights and sounds of HBEC Angelo is a vital part of the project.

We are extremely happy to be back online and streaming and hope to have a much better year this year.  We have learned some very hard lessons over the year and although we are not the biggest eagle cam project out there, nor do we want to be, we do everything we can to provide this glimpse into the nesting life of a bald eagle family.

Again we want to thank all our loyal followers who have patiently waited for us to be back on line.  If you have not experienced this great project we encourage you to join us at www.harrisonbayeaglecam.org as we hopefully watch Elliott and Eliza lay a couple eggs and raise a new brood of bald eagles that will take to the skies.  

Golf Environment Organization Recertification Achieved

I am proud to announce that The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay has completed recertification with the Golf Environment Organization http://www.golfenvironment.org to remain a GEO Certified golf course.  We gained our original certification in 2014 GEO 2014 certification. The Golf Environment Organization is a worldwide leader in environmental sustainability based in Europe with member courses all over the world.  The thing I enjoy the most about GEO certification is that they look at all aspects of the golf course operations not just what is happening on the course.  GEO looks at things like whether or not you are purchasing locally grown produce for food preparation, how far your fuel has to be delivered which impacts your carbon footprint, what your involvement with the local community is, to all aspects of the property.  For us, being that we are located on Harrison Bay State Park property, this examination into our environmental programs expanded outside of the boundaries of the course to include all the projects undertaken and impacts made property wide.

The certification or recertification process with GEO really got us looking into our complete operation and got us to see things that we were doing correctly and things that we could improve on.  There are six sections of certification with GEO and our inputs and reports from these areas can be found here.

The content of our Nature section can be viewed here  The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay---Nature

The content of our Water section can be viewed here  The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay---Water

The content of our Pollution Control section can be viewed here The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay---Pollution Control



The content of our Supply Chain section can be viewed here  The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay---Supply Chain

The content of our Energy section can be viewed here  The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay---Energy

The content of our Community section can be viewed here The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay---Community



We are very grateful to our department leaders locally and in Nashville for all their support in obtaining our original certification and in gaining this recertification.  Special thanks go to Mr. Robin Boyer, BT@HB GM and Golf Professional, Mr. Don Campbell, Park Manager and Mr. Matt Vawter, Park Ranger at Harrison Bay State Park for their assistance in sharing and gathering information about the history and impact of Harrison Bay State Park.  Special thanks also has to go to Mrs. Diane Johnstone and Mr. Jim Morgan of the Friends of Harrison Bay State Park for sharing how the Friends Group assist in providing support and funding for some park projects including the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project and also how they are assisting the golf course by being members of the BT@HB Bluebird monitors Bluebird Trail is Thriving.

We are very proud to be among this list of only 11 courses in the United States to have obtained GEO certification.  GEO Certified United States courses

The recertification process is very educational as you get to step back and look at your operation from a distance and then dive in to gather specific information for each category.  I am always excited to see how others view our environmental projects and practices and was thrilled when GEO assigned Ms. Teresa Wade of Net Positive Golf to be our independent verifier.  Our complete independent verification report prepared by Ms. Wade can be read here--2017 GEO Verification Report

HBEC is Experiencing Technical Difficulties

Since 2010 The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay has been blessed to be the home of a pair of American bald eagles.  With the addition of cameras, infrared lighting, and microphones over the past five years we have had the unbelievable pleasure of getting an up close and "birds eye" view of the nesting and brooding habits of Elliott and Eloise. Last years addition of the approach cam allowed us to get a different view of their activities.

The 2017 nesting season was to be an exciting and intriguing viewing season since we now have a new female eagle, Eliza A New Lady in HBEC . Lots of questions were in the air. Would Elliott take to the new female?  Would they make a good pair or was there a new male waiting to take over as well? How would Eliza's parenting style differ from Eloise?  Unfortunately we have not factual idea of what happened to Eloise and we continue to pray that she is okay and somewhere else raising a new family.

As fate would have it, and a reminder that you can't beat Mother Nature, the storms that came through our area in the beginning of December that helped to put out the raging wildfires also took out the electronics in the top of the nest tree.  We have lost communication with the HD PTZ cam, the infrared light, and the in tree microphone.  Basically everything that we need to continue enjoying the famous view of the HBEC nest is down and at this time can not be fixed.

Looks a little like HBSP Ranger Matt Vawter

So Fix-It Felix!!! If it was that easy, we would, but we can't.  The eagles have begun the nesting process and we cannot do anything that might disturb them based on the International Migratory Birds Treaty, and the Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle Protection Act (Act 16 U.S.C. 668-668C). Even if the Protection Act was not in place we still would not take any actions that would disturb them. It's just not the right thing to do.

So what is the plan?  Right now we are putting together a package to place a new camera at the ground level with infrared lights to light up the tree, along with a new microphone.  Will it be perfect or what we are used to? No, it will not but it will allow us to get a better view of the nest tree activities than we have now.  We are hopeful to have all the technology in place within the next two weeks so we can start streaming a better picture for you.  In the fall when we can do some maintenance on the cameras we will replace the PTZ camera and other items in the top of the tree and install backups so if this happens again we will not be in the same predicament.  

If you would like to help our project out and donate to the camera/tecnology replacement and upgrade campaign please visit the HBEC website www.harrisonbayeaglecam.org for different ways in which to donate.  Our project is completely funded by donations from our fabulous viewers so every penny helps.  All donations are tax deductible and we can provide you with any donation information you might need.  Matt will be placing a Fund Raiser page on the website soon with more detailed information about the components, timing, and need.

Thanks for your support of the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project.