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.

Aquatrols Conservation Award

Earlier this month our course was awarded the inaugural Aquatrols Conservation Award for the wildlife habitat management programs we have undertaken over the years on the golf course.  We are very grateful to Aquatrols for this award and for the recognition of our environmental stewardship projects.  It is our belief that golf course management and environmental stewardship go hand in hand and in all honesty it just makes the job more fun and interesting.

I would like to thank Mr. Steve Fasano of Aquatrols for being so gracious in his comments and his time in presenting us with the Conservation Award. Each year Aquatrols sponsors the Golf Course Industry magazine Super Social Media Awards at the annual Golf Industry Show.  The Super Social Media awards are presented to golf courses for their use of twitter, blogs, videos, and other forms of media which get the word out of all the great work being done on their course.

Whether it is our Harrison Bay Eagle Cam project or our Mallard Duck Nesting Tubes or our Wild Turkey Feeders or our wood duck boxes or Establishing Native Grass Areas they are all done to enhance the golf course, to provide nesting and brooding  areas and to help promote the fact that golf courses can be, and are, safe and suitable habitats for a multitude of birds and wildlife.

It has been a busy winter with many improvements made to the course and we are ready to get going with the growing season.  It seems quite early but Spring has sprung at Harrison Bay with the trees blooming and the greens coming out of dormancy.  We hope this is the start to a great golfing season for all and we hope all will come out and enjoy the great weather and all the hard work that we will be putting into the course.

Farewell 2016...You Will Not Be Forgotten

As we say goodbye to another golfing season at Harrison Bay I wanted to take a quick look back at the 2016 season.  This summer marked my 25th summer on a golf course and my 16th at The Bear Trace.  Although I consider myself a pretty decent superintendent I have to admit that this summer definitely educated, and humbled me more than any other year I can remember in my career.

In preparation for this season the agronomy staff worked hard during the winter months to make improvements to the golf course.  The biggest projects were the renovation of #3 green  and the extensive drainage project in the landing area of #10 fairway.  We also worked on some bunker renovation, irrigation improvements, and improving drainage along cart paths.  With all these improvements we felt pretty good about the upcoming season as dormancy broke and the growing season began.

#2 Green on April 19 under attack from nematodes

Unfortunately our season got off to a terrible start with a massive nematode infestation that devastated many large areas on our greens.  The original diagnosis of our problem was a root pathogen which was attacking the root system, which was accurate, but this disease was really only allowed to attack the greens root system because the nematodes had weakened the roots to the point that they could not defend themselves or recover quick enough.  As the greens continued to come out of dormancy the nematodes continued to feast on the fresh, new, susceptible young roots that our bermudagrass greens produce each spring.

Putting green Nov 2 recovered from nematode damage

After receiving the results of a soil assay that showed sting and root knot nematode counts drastically elevated we were convinced that the primary concern was not to combat the root pathogen but rather the microscopic nematodes that were reeking havoc on our greens.  After several application of products to reduce the nematode population and provide protection for the root system the greens began to recover.  Over the summer the agronomy staff worked hard to repair areas on the greens that were damaged from the nematode attack including the complete renovation of #9 green.  It has been an long battle by I am proud to say that our greens are back to their championship form that we have been known for for so many years.

After an exciting week hosting the TGA Match Play Championships at the end of July the agronomy staff jumped right back into improving the golf course.  Our aerification of the golf course this August was the most extensive we have undertaken since we renovated the greens back in 2003.  Removal of major amounts of thatch and organic matter from greens, tees, fairways, and the driving range made a tremendous improvement in the course.
All of the activities cataloged in posts about 2016 Greens Aerification and Showing the tees, fairways, and driving range some love.

The fall was a definite reminder that every year is different from the next.  The hottest, driest summer that I can remember that gripped the southeast was unprecedented with Chattanooga breaking long standing records with a total of 108 days with temperatures over 90 degrees and over 7 months without receiving a total of 1" of rainfall in a single day.  This was the first summer I can remember of having to place supplemental irrigation sprinklers around the course just to save wilting 419 bermudagrass.

On the environmental front we welcomed the latest two eaglets HB9 and HB10 to the HBEC family and unfortunately said goodbye to Eloise as we got a new female eagle at our nest, which Hannah named Eliza.  We are currently experiencing some technical issues with the main PTZ camera and sound resulting from the storms a couple of weeks ago but hope to have this resolved in time to watch the next brood of HBEC eaglets enter the world.

Barry supervising Mitch's work in the mini-ex.

The golf course lost two very good employees this year.  Barry Webb passed away unexpectedly on May 29th.  Barry was one of those guys who never complained, always showed up to work, and did his best for the course.  RIP Barry.

We also said goodbye to my first assistant Mitch Sivley. After 17 years of dedicated service to the golf course he left to follow his dream of being a truck driver.  Mitch was a cornerstone of our course and I relied on him greatly throughout the years.  His skill on heavy equipment and with a chainsaw will be missed as will his dedication and passion for the golf course itself.

Outreach, education, and accolades continued this year beginning in January at the 50th annual TTA conference where I received the Dr. Tom Samples Professional of the Year Award.  At the Golf Industry Show in San Diego we were honored by Golf Industry Magazine for our social media presence and outreach with the Dr. John Kaminski Award.  I was fortunate to be able to present our environmental projects and programs to several organizations including the New England Regional Turfgrass Council, Sustainability in Golf, and most recently at the 2016 Carolinas Golf Course Superintendent Association Conference and Tradeshow in Myrtle Beach.

After a long summer we are eagerly looking forward to the dawn of 2017.  This year I have realized that even after 25 years in the business I still have much to learn and that I can not let my guard down at any time of the year.

The agronomy staff deserves all the credit for the turn around in the conditioning of the golf course this year and I am grateful for their continued dedication to the course.

From frustration to elation, from failure to victory, from questioning my future in the industry to remembering why I really love my career.

Farewell 2016...You have been an interesting year and one we will not forget.

It's A SOCIAL World After All

First off let me apologize if you now have that song running through your head, not my intent.  If you didn't already I'm sure you do now, and again, sorry.  We do live in a social world now however, but now it is a "social media" world.  The days of club newsletters being mailed out to members is most likely a thing of the past.  Members/golfers want information now, instantly, which has changed the way superintendents and golf professionals communicate with their members and golfers.

We try to use a lot of different social media outlets because we realize that not everyone uses the same resources and each one has its own unique purpose.  Our Facebook site The Bear Trace @ Harrison Bay gives a detailed view of what is going on at the course.  Our Twitter account @BearTraceHB allows us to give instant information about course conditions and activities.  Our website www.tngolftrail.net provides information on our golf course and the other courses along the Tennessee Golf Trail in a broader, more in depth format.  We are also on Vine at Bear Trace HB, Instagram at beartracehb, and of course this blog, which we love to keep up to date.

We have all these information outlets to try and educate and inform our golfers and we did not expect our efforts to gain national recognition but it has.  Today we received official notification, by the one and only Pat Jones, that we have been selected to receive the Dr. John Kaminski Leadership Award from Golf Course Industry Magazine and Aquatrols at this years Super Social Media Awards in San Diego.  We are very grateful and humbled that our work has been recognized and are really looking forward to the #GCITWEETUP16.

Social media sites are a great way to get YOUR word out about changes or improvements to the course, course closures for weather or cultural practices, or to announce upcoming tournaments or outings.  If you don't already utilize this free way to promote your golf course and yourself I would strongly encourage you to consider it.