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.

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.

BT@HB Bluebird Trail is Thriving

The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay is home to a collection of 45 Eastern Bluebird nesting houses strategically scattered throughout the golf course.  These nesting houses have been in place since 2008 and have fledged hundreds of bluebirds which now fill the air around the golf course.  Eastern Bluebirds are not only nice to look at, but have a peaceful song and help to eat lots of insects, including spiders, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and many more.

Nesting boxes at the course are very active already this year with over half of them already having residents staking claim for the year.  Bluebirds usually have 1-3 broods of 2-7 eggs per year.  The incubation period is between 11-19 days and the then they will remain in the nest from 17-21 day before fledging.

Bill and Diane Bice, Diane Johnstone, Angie Medley
(Deanne and Jim Morgan, Chuck Johnstone not pictured)

We are extremely fortunate that several years ago we were able to connect with interested community members who love to monitor and take care of our nesting boxes.  These members of the Friends of Harrison Bay State Park volunteer their time to take care of the blue bird houses at the course and a smaller blue bird trail at the park.  Projects like this one where we can reach outside of our course and invite people from the community to see what golf courses can provide for the environment are critical in changing the philosophy that golf courses are harmful to the environment. Previous post on Bluebird Nest Monitoring

After a couple of years where we lost several nests due to predication from raccoons and snakes we installed simple wire predator guards which have made a significant difference in our success rate.

Recently our friends at TurfNet put together this video on the predator guards and why we use them.

Predator Barriers for Bluebird Boxes

Bluebird nesting houses can be a great addition to any golf course, or even your backyard, and are rather easy to make.  There are many nesting house plans on the internet but we chose to use the Eastern Bluebird Nesting Box Plans from Audubon International.   Bluebird Fact Sheet from Audubon International

All the information you could probably ever need to know about bluebirds can be found at http://www.sialis.org or at All About Birds

In order to keep up with how our nesting houses are doing Mrs. Diane Johnstone reports our nesting activity to  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Nest Watch.  A real simple way to know which boxes are doing well and help to keep a count of Eastern Bluebird nesting activity at Harrison Bay.

The Bluebird Trail at the golf course has been one of the easier environmental projects that we have done and has provided suitable habitat for hundreds of hatchlings to begin their lives.  If you don't have bluebird houses (or another species nesting house) on your course then I strongly encourage you to consider it.  Start small with just a few and expand from there.   Happy Birding!!!

HBEC Eagle Day 2015

Once again this year we have had the blessing to watch two more Bald Eagles hatch and grow thanks to our Harrison Bay Eagle Cam and all of our great viewers, chatters, sponsors and donors. We have always held to the belief that a golf course is more than just a place to chase a little white ball around and put it in a hole.  Golf courses are a fantastic sanctuary for wildlife, insects, plants, and especially, birds.  Our camera gives us, and anyone else around the world, an upclose view of the life and struggles from breaking out of the egg to taking that first leap of faith and launching into the wind to soar free.

 This past Tuesday we got to welcome just a few of the people who have logged on to view the eagles this year when we held our first annual HBEC Eagle Day at Harrison Bay.  In 2011 when we started this project I would not have imagined that it would have gathered such a loyal following or would have brought so many different people from different parts of the nation together, but it has.  Each Tuesday morning we have a nest tour for the locals who want to come view the eagles from the ground but not everyone who watches the camera is local. So, with the help of our moderators, we put together a date when people outside of our local viewing area could come to the course to see the eagles.

The festivities began on Monday night where many of us met, some for the first time, at the Harrison Bay rec hall for a "meet and greet". With over 50 people in attendance from 9 different states we had the great opportunity to watch Harrison Bay State Park Ranger Matt Vawter give us a demonstration of Scarlett, a red tail hawk who is a resident at the Harrison Bay SP Raptor Center.  Scarlett is blind in one eye and so she can not be released into the wild but she has a great home and does wonderful educational programs at Harrison Bay.

One of our moderators, affectionately referred to as PTomahawk, brought this specially decorated cake for the event.  Not sure who to give credit for the skill and creativity but it is amazing.

Special appreciation has to go to the Friends of Harrison Bay State Park for providing food and drinks at the "meet and greet" as well as for the moderators lunch on Tuesday.  Wonderful group of people who have supported, sponsored, and encouraged the eagle cam from the beginning.

Sadly, not everyone that wanted to attend Eagle Day could make it so we turned the camera on some of the visitors so they could wave at all their HBEC friends.  It was nice to see people who had chatted together all year meet each other and put faces with names.  Our eagle cam is like a little family spread out all over the world.

Watching Elliott and Eloise raise their young each year has truly been one of the highlights of my career.  There is a special sense of pride and responsibility in keeping their "home" safe for them and their young and we take that very seriously.  I hope that we will continue to be blessed by these magnificent creatures for many years to come and I hope you are able to get a glimpse of them when you are on the course.

Remember, golf courses are for more than just playing golf.  Take a look around next time you play and take in all the course and the environment has to offer.

Welcome to the World HB7 and HB8

Elliott and Eloise have had to endure a lot since she laid her eggs on February 17th and 20th of this year.  Through the bitter cold and snow to the warm days when it just didn't seem like it would ever quit raining, they were both there to protect and care for their eggs with the hope of a successful hatch.

The hatching process began on Thursday of this past week when HB7 began breaking out of its shell trying to be the first of the two to see the light of day.  The hatching process was exciting to watch as it gave us all an insight into the world of a bald eaglet and what effort it takes to come into the world.

After about 33 hours of working to break out of the egg HB7 officially made its entrance into our world at 8:34 PM this Friday evening, March 27, 2015.

Not to be out done by big brother/sister, HB8 started its entry into the world shortly after that on Saturday morning.  It took HB8 over 45 hours to come out of its shell but when it did it was ready for the world.

We are beyond thrilled and blessed to have two new residents of The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  Each year that we get to watch Elliott and Eloise raise their young just puts a special emphasis on what we are here for as a golf course, not only to provide recreation for golfers but also to provide suitable and sustainable habitat for wildlife.

We are thankful, grateful, and blessed that Elliott and Eloise have chosen our golf course as their home. Providing the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project has been both rewarding and educational but we can not do it without the support of our viewers and sponsors.  We have to give a tremendous amount of thanks to our supporters such as USGA, Jacobsen, The Friends of Harrison Bay State Park, and our many viewers who have been so generous in supporting the project both financially and emotionally.

We welcome all to join us at www.harrisonbayeaglecam.org and enjoy the growth of HB7 and HB8

Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Season Officially Begins

We have all been waiting patiently, well not always so patiently, for Eloise to lay her first egg of the 2015 season and on Wednesday evening she did so at 5:04 PM.

Even through the snow and ice on Friday night Eloise did what any good mother would do and protected her egg/baby from the frigid temperatures.  Although it was in the upper teens, probably lower in the top of the tree, she kept the egg at around 100 degrees underneath her.  Safe and sound.

On Saturday night at 6:26 PM Eloise laid her second egg of the season to everyone's delight. Here is a link to a video by one of our great moderators Suzie-O of the second egg being laid.

Eloise Lays Second Egg of 2015 Season HBEC


We will have to wait 35-38 days until the eggs hatch but that is the fun part, the anticipation.

I have to say a special THANK YOU to everyone who stepped up during our fundraiser campaign and raised more than the $5,000.00 we needed to continue the project through the year.  We continue each year to try and make this the best educational and entertaining project we can and it is only through our generous donors that this can be possible.

Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Update 1-13-15

Rebuilding and renovations of the nest are in full swing this week following the rain on Monday.  Elliott and Eloise have been very busy bringing in new sticks and fluff material for the little ones that will hopefully be coming soon.  Last year the eggs were laid on Feb. 4 and 7 so we are not too far off.

The new camera is leaps and bounds above what we have ever had before and we are really excited about the quality and clarity of the views we will have this year.  Here is a close up of Eloise that we got today as she sat out surveying her territory.

"You Lookin' At Me?"

Nice video by one of our moderators Suzie-O of some serious nesterations going on yesterday.

Cool short video of Eloise leaving the nest tree last evening to go to the roost trees above the pump house.  So powerful but yet so graceful.

Looking forward to a great year at the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam.  Hoping for happy and healthy eaglets that don't leave the nest before they are supposed to.  We hope you all enjoy.

www.harrisonbayeaglecam.org

Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Almost Ready to Fly

We have had several people ask us about when the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam will be back on line again so I thought we should fill everyone in on the improvements we have made for this coming year.  We think you are going to like them.You just have to be patient a little while longer.

Last year when HB5 was injured and then rehabbed by Al Cecere and the fine people at the American Eagle Foundation we were able to gain some great friends and mentors in the eagle cam world.  The AEF team has been broadcasting live feed of eagle nests from Dollywood for several years and in the past couple years has added a site in northeast Florida to their portfolio.  They have provided us with information on the proper camera to purchase and streaming service so we can provide a better, high quality product to our viewers.

All of our equipment has been upgraded this year from the camera to the microphone to the website, all the way to the communication cable transmitting the signal to the world. If you want a clear signal then fiber optic cable is the way to go and so we did.  Harrison Bay State Park Ranger Matt Vawter has taken over the technological side of this project (it is all way over my head) and has done a tremendous job.  He and Mrs. Angie Underwood of the Friends of Harrison Bay State Park have created a new, user friendly website that we think everyone is going to enjoy.  Matt enlisted the assistance of his father, Paul Vawter, and his lifelong friend CL, to come to the course and terminate the ends on the fiber optic cable.  For one, I was amazed at the special care that had to be taken with this fiber but more amazed at the quality of picture it helps to produce.  Special thanks to Mr. Paul and Mr. CL for their help.

Once again this year Angelo came down to assist us with the installation of the camera and other items that go way up in the top of the tree.  We can not thank Angelo enough for his help, for if he did not help us I don't know if the project would even get off the ground.  I have to give him all the credit though.  He worked for over three hours at over 100 feet in the air in a pine tree that was swaying and twisting in the wind and did a fantastic job.

Although the website is not yet completely ready for public viewing I did want to provide everyone with a screenshot to show the clarity of picture we will have the pleasure to experience this year.  Also this year we will not have any ads or commercials running during our broadcasts so teachers, if your are out there, you can tune into the broadcast and let your students watch the activities without fear (short of the occasional bloody coot that they will eat).



Our site will go live in a week or so but if you want to see an active Bald Eagle nest right now we suggest you visit the American Eagle Foundation Northeast Florida website and see the activities of their beautiful Romeo and Juliet.  AEF Northeast Florida Cam

American Eagle Foundation Visit and Harrison Bay Raptor Center Opens

Mr. Cecere with HB5 before release

Back in June we had the great pleasure of getting to meet Mr. Al Cecere, founder and president of the American Eagle Foundation.  After one of our eaglets, HB5, was injured trying to learn how to fly, Mr. Cecere and his great staff at AEF took care of the eaglet, rehabbing it to get it healthy enough to return to the sky HB5 Flies Free Again. Mr. Cecere was gracious enough to invite us up to Dollywood to the AEF headquarters for a tour and to discuss the best options for us to improve our Harrison Bay Eagle Cam.

On Tuesday Mitch and I took a trip up to the AEF Headquarters which is located on the Dollywood property.  It was quite impressive to see the operation and hear Mr. Cecere speak about how his passion to protect the American Bald Eagle had grown to the size operation it is today.  Currently they have over 80 birds which are housed on property either as educational birds, repopulation mating pairs, or birds which are injured and are being rehabilitated with the hopes of returning to the wild one day.

The highlight of the trip, besides gaining all the valuable information from Mr. Cecere, was the upclose time we got to spend with Challenger, the Foundation's most famous ambassador.  Challenger is a 26 year old male Bald Eagle who can be seen flying at many sporting and social events around the country.  If you watched the opening of the Eagles-Redskins game on Sunday then you were able to see Challenger fly before the game and if you read this before Monday night you can tune into Late Night with David Letterman as Mr. Cecere and Challenger are scheduled to make an appearance.

We were fortunate to be there during Challenger's daily exercise time and were able to watch Mr. Cecere and another handler let Challenger fly back and forth down a 200 foot hallway in the enclosure house.  The silence as Challenger flew by use was amazing and made it very clear why they are such good hunters.  Prey simply can not hear them coming.

Challenger had to be placed in his travel case while they got his "treats" cut up and prepared for his flight time.  Even in a "cage" he still looks regal and demands respect.

Besides providing educational and instructional programs for Dollywood and many many other organizations the AEF also is very active in trying to repopulate the skies with American Bald Eagles.  This structure is known as the "breeding house" where they have mating pairs of bald eagles which have bred hundreds of eaglets which have been raised, trained, and released into the wild.  The adult eagles in this area are disabled in some form or fashion and would not survive in the wild so this is a fantastic place for them to live.  A free nest and free food plus a mate.  How could it get better.

If you have had the pleasure of going to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee hopefully you have taken the time to stop and watch the eagles in the Bald Eagle Aviary and have watched the "Wings of America Birds of Prey" show which is performed four times per day by the AEF.  There are currently 18 bald eagles in the aviary with a couple of nesting pairs inside of the enclosure.  It is quite a site to see all those white heads lined up at the top of the aviary basking in the sun.

Mr. Cecere was kind enough to take us behind the scenes to see the show operation where we got to see a very curious Bald Eagle named "Spirit" who was very interested in what we were doing looking into his enclosure.  Birds like "Spirit" and the other raptors on property make up the "Birds of Prey" show that you can see at the park on a daily basis.  The AEF has been putting on the raptor show since Dollywood opened over 25 years ago and is one of the most popular entertainment activities at the park.

One of the main reasons we went to AEF was to pick Mr. Cecere's brain about how we can improve our Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project for this year.  He was more than willing to show us the entire setup and gave us all the information we needed to copy his NE Florida operation.  Gaining friendships with experienced people in the eagle world is fantastic and will allow us to provide a better experience for our viewers.

Thanks so much to Mr. Cecere and everyone involved with the American Eagle Foundation for their time, experience, and encouragement.

Back home at Harrison Bay State Park we have some exciting news to tell you about as well.  Last week the rangers at the park were able to add three injured birds to the Harrison Bay Raptor Center.  These birds are injured or disabled and will remain at the Center where they will be cared for and will provide educational and viewing opportunities for park and community guests.  This is a great project initiated by Park Ranger Matt Vawter and funded by The Friends of Harrison Bay State Park.



We have a Red Tailed Hawk named "Scarlett" who doesn't miss a single movement outside of her enclosure.  Yes, eyes like a hawk.

The resident "camera hound" is "Happy" a Turkey Vulture who can not sit still and wants all the attention.  Shaking of a set of keys will get him hopping up and down and looking straight at you.

The last member of the trio is an owl named "Marley".  She has over half of her left wing missing and can not fly so she uses the branches and limbs which have been positioned in her enclosure to move about.  She also does not miss any movement outside of her enclosure and has "night watch" duty on all the guests coming in and out of the park.

We encourage guests to stop by and see the raptors.  For those interested in more information or how you can help support the project click here Harrison Bay Raptor Center.  Donations are readily accepted as feeding these birds will be an expensive venture.