Bobwhite Quail Chicks are Busting Out

We have done a lot of environmental projects at Harrison Bay over the years but our Bobwhite Quail Restoration project has turned out to be one of the most fun, and it culminated today in the release of the chicks from their brooding chamber.  The project started back in April and you can review its beginning here Southern Bobwhite Quail Restoration project. We have had the chicks for 36 days and they have been in the brooding chamber for the past 24 days.  Today they were released to fly free.

The chicks started out about the size of a golf ball, if that, and have grown considerably in size over these last 36 days.  They have gained about four to five times their size and have grown in their flight feathers so it was time to let them loose into their new environment.  Our project started with 125 Bobwhite quail chicks and as of today 86 have survived and are thriving.  According to Bill the survival rate of most quail clutches is between 12-15% so our 68.8% survival rate is incredible.

Here is a video (turn on your volume) we put together of the 

Bobwhite Quail Restoration Project at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.   

(Videos are courtesy of Willie Hamby.  Photos by Paul Carter)

The release party was one of the coolest things I have experienced in quite some time.  To see the quail chicks take flight and/or strut around in the native grass areas was entertaining, inspiring, and gave us all a sense of satisfaction that the project had turned out so successful.

The project is far from over and we have more in store but it makes me think back to a classic episode of The Andy Griffith Show "Opie the Birdman" (Season 4, Episode 1) and a saying comes to mind.

The box seems sort of empty now...

but don't the fields sound nice and full.

Again we can't thank Bill Greene enough for his dedication and passion for our environmental programs.  The Bobwhite quail restoration project has been fun to implement.  We are proud to have a golf course with the natural habitat specially suited for these birds and we can't wait to watch them grow up and begin raising their own families on the course.  This group of birds should lay their first clutch of eggs toward the middle of July and will hopefully over the years cover the course.

If you are interested in introducing Bobwhite quail onto your golf course and if we can help in any way please contact us and we will be happy to put you in touch with the quail breeder, let you borrow the brooding chamber, or answer any questions we can.

Welcome to The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay 

Mr. and Mrs. Bobwhite Quail.  

We hope you enjoy your new home for many years to come.

Southern Bobwhite Quail Restoration Project--Earth Day 2018

Every day is Earth Day on a golf course and especially at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  Each year we try to determine an environmental or wildlife habitat need on our course and design a project or program to try and address this need.  For decades the habitat for the Southern Bobwhite Quail has been in constant decline.  This decline is caused by many issues.  As smaller farms, pasturelands, and grass-woodline areas have disappeared in favor of larger open farms and sprawling neighborhoods the habitat for these small game birds is becoming scarce.

Over the years we have drastically reduced the highly maintained turfgrass acreage on our course allowing these areas to return to a natural grassy stage.   These areas are perfect habitat for these small birds as they are small in size and close to water and wooded cover.  The project for this year was designed and carried out by Bill Greene.  Bill, an avid hunter and outdoorsman throughout his life, has a passion for wildlife conservation.  After some detailed research Bill started constructing a brooding chamber to hold the quail chicks until they are large enough to be released.  The chamber is 3'x8' and 12" tall with feed towers and a watering system installed.

Feed and grit will be placed in the feed towers and water placed in the watering barrel.  This supply of food and water will be enough to keep them for the 33 days then need to stay in the brooding chamber before being released into the wild.  1/4" wire mesh was installed in the front half of the brooding chamber with the back half of the chamber solid to allow the chicks an area to get out of any harsh sun, wind, or rain.

A layer of pine shavings are placed in the bottom of the chamber and the chicks released into the chamber.  As you can see in the picture, the chicks, which Bill is holding in his hands, are very small and quite fragile at this young age.  It will take close to a month for them to become strong and big enough to release into their new habitat.

Our plan was to have the chicks out in the brooding chamber long before this time. The unpredictable weather that has kept the south in what seems like a never ending winter has changed those plans.  Since the chicks are so small and fragile and the weather keeps fluctuating so much we have decided to keep the chick in a nesting area at the maintenance building under a heat light and with food and water until the weather regulates.  This will give them some extra time to grow and be ready to be placed in "the wild".

We are blessed to have employees like Bill Greene at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  Not only does he assist in maintaining the golf course grounds everyday but has taken a personal interest in the environmental projects and programs we have in place.  Bill took the time to research the needs of the quail, to speak with his  uncle who raises Bobwhite quail and to secure the donation of the game birds to our project.  If you see Bill out on the course (he will be the tall guy almost always wearing something promoting the Georgia Bulldogs) stop and speak with him and learn about the Bobwhite quail restoration project and say thanks to him for his commitment to the environment, our wildlife habitat programs, and to the golf course.

We are very lucky to be able to come to work on a golf course everyday, and even more for that golf course to be The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.  Golf courses provide land that can be used in many ways.  For the golfers (humans) it provides a great place for exercise, stress release, and fellowship with friends and family.  For the wildlife and birds the golf course provides a home, a place where they can move and live and raise their families.


We hope that each of you have a fantastic Earth Day this year and remember that every day should be considered Earth Day.  Please do you part while on the golf course by keeping vehicles out of native grass areas, placing trash and cigarette butts where they are designed to go, and stopping from time to time and simply enjoying the wonderful sights and sounds of the course.

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.

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

Spring Cleaning for the Wood Duck Boxes

For me personally I think the Southern Wood Duck is the most attractive bird we have on our golf course, except for our bald eagles of course. The population of the wood duck was greatly threatened in the late 1800's and early 1900's as detailed in Staus of the Wood Duck from Ducks Unlimited but has made a comeback.  Our belief in sharing the property our golf course sits on with the wildlife and waterfowl that call it "home" started a long time ago and we still hold that belief to be true today.

Several years ago we constructed 12 wood duck boxes which were placed in different areas near the water around the course.  The plans for these nesting boxes are really simple to make. This plan from Ducks Unlimited is some of the best I have seen. Wood Duck Nest Box Plans  So each year in the spring we go through the course and repair any damage to the boxes and install new bedding material (cedar shavings) to help the ducks out.  Wood ducks are extremely timid and will abandon nests built in tree knot holes if threatened so installing these nest boxes over the water where predators can't get to them give them a greater chance of nesting success.

Our wood duck boxes have been very successful over the years.  We have provided a safe and suitable nesting habitat for these waterfowl for just a very limited investment in material and time.  Installing these nest boxes has allowed for the wood duck population around our golf course to grow like the hatchlings in this photo.

Our next step might be to add a nest box cam so we can watch the nesting process and to continue to promote the environmental benefit of golf courses and the superintendents who manage them.

If we can assist or encourage any others to protect and promote the wood duck population please let us know.   Happy Birding!!!

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!!!

Harrison Bay Eagle Cam goes High Def and More

The Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project is beginning it's fifth season with some new additions and improvements.  Each year we have tried to upgrade the experience of watching Elliott and Eloise raise their young.  This year we have upgraded our broadcast to High Def which will allow us to see the details of the eggs, the eaglets, and at times, unfortunately, what is for dinner.  The details of the feathers and other features really pop with this new addition.

The other addition/improvement to the project is the addition of an Approach Cam which our faithful viewers and supporters raised enough money to fund last year.  This camera which is located near the ground looking up at the nest will give us a view of the eagles flying in and out of the nest and moving around in the top of the trees.  We have some more adjustments and fine focusing to do on the approach cam but this has already been fun to watch.

The Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project, which can be viewed at www.harrisonbayeaglecam.org, is a great project that we have a lot of fun with.  The project was begun to allow us to watch "real time" life in a bald eagles nest but also to show how a properly managed golf course can not only be a place of enjoyment for golfers but also provide a safe and suitable habitat for wildlife to live and raise their young.  Over the years we have had over a million viewers view our project from all over the world.  We hope that everyone who logs on will enjoy the project for what it was designed for and we thank you for your continued support and funding.

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

Golf Industry Show 2015 in San Antonio

This past week Mitch and I had the honor and pleasure of attending the 2015 Golf Industry Show in San Antonio, Texas.  GIS includes both the annual national conference of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and the National Golf Course Owners Association, among others. This year was very special as we accepted the 2015 GCSAA President's Award for Environmental Stewardship from GCSAA President Keith Ihms during the Opening Ceremony.  This is the highest member honor given out by GCSAA and we could not be more proud.

Besides being able to address the attendees of the Opening Ceremony after accepting our President's Award I also had the pleasure of presenting to my fellow golf course superintendents on Tuesday morning.  My presentation on our Electric Equipment Initiative and how successful the project has been was very well received and we got lots of positive feedback and questions regarding our results.  Hope some will go back and really research the benefits of using electric equipment on their golf courses.

The Golf Industry Show provides many opportunities to meet new people and reconnect with old friends and this year was no exception.  I had the opportunity on Wednesday to promote our environmental projects on GCSAA TV with fellow environmental award winner Gary Ingram from California in a segment hosted by the one and only Brad Klein of Golfweek Magazine.  This was followed by another interview and then another one and finally the day concluded with a fun interview with John Maginnes on SiriusXM PGATOUR radio daily afternoon talk show.  It is always great to talk with the SiriusXM guys as they completely understand that without the work and dedication of the golf course maintenance staffs no golf would ever get played.

In many ways this had to be the busiest GIS ever with presentations and speeches each day but we still had time to meet with many people to talk about the future of environmental sustainability in the golf course industry.  We were able to meet with the great folks from Golf Environment Organization and discuss the exciting changes in their certification program.  We met with Ms. Teresa Wade of Experience Green to discuss the success of her Sustainability in Golf program.  At the Environmental Institute for Golf reception we got to speak with many like minded persons in the golf course industry and got to catch up with two of my mentors, David Phipps, GCSAA Northwest Field Rep. and Anthony Williams of Stone Mountain Golf Club.  These are only a few of the meetings and contacts and I would like to thank everyone for their time and interest.

It wasn't all work though and Mitch and I had time to relax and take in many of the sights offered in San Antonio.  We did make it up to see the Alamo, unfortunately it was night and the mission was closed.  The Towers of the America's was quite a sight to see especially at night lit up with the GCSAA emblem and the San Antonio Riverwalk was extremely nice even though the unseasonably cool weather kept most from walking along it.  We had a great time at the Jacobsen rodeo on Tuesday night where we got to get up close and personal with some authentic Texas longhorns and then watch a live rodeo.

Once again our supervisors in Nashville showed their continuing support for us by joining us at the event.  Mitch and I have to thank Mr. Nixon for taking time out of his busy schedule to always show his support for us.  It was nice to be able to spend some time with GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans and GCSAA President Keith Ihms over the past few months both at the USGA Annual Meeting and the GIS.  From my standpoint the golf course industry is in good hands and is primed for future success.

Again, Mitch and I have to thank everyone at GCSAA for their generous hospitality and recognition this past week.  It was a once in a lifetime experience that we will not soon forget.  To everyone behind the scenes at GCSAA and GIS THANK YOU.  If you are a superintendent that has not attended the GIS make it a career goal to do so.  You will not regret it and your course will get so much out of it.

Hope everyone who attended returned home safely and did not have to wait in the airports too long.  Til next year in San Diego.