Eloise lays two eggs for the 2013 Season

 After some early indecision about which nest Elliot and Eloise were going to call "home" for this year, they have returned to the original nest on #10 and she has laid two eggs for this season.

The first egg was laid on Feb. 10 and the second on Feb. 13, both between 4:30 and 5:00 PM.  This is only one day different from the laying schedule last year.  With a 35 day incubation period we will be looking for some new eaglets to hatch around March 17th. 

Thanks to all the sponsors and supporters which make the project possible.  We are praying for a successful season this year but just knowing they are safe and sound is very nice.

Harrison Bay Eagle Cam 2013

The Harrison Bay Eagle Cam is up and running at www.harrisonbayeaglecam.org and we are hoping for a successful nesting season this year.  As you may or may not know, Elliott and Eloise built a second nest on the golf course this summer and as of yet have not decided which nest they are going to use this season.  The footage that is being streamed on the website is from the original nest which at the current time is the only cameras we can broadcast.  The cameras in the new nest, used to take the photo above, require a greater upload capacity than we currently have but once our cable internet gets installed we will be able to broadcast both nests if needed.

The Eagle Cam project has been getting some good publicity as of late and the site has been regularly visited by interested viewers from around the world.  Here is a link to a nice article by Richard Simms of Nooga.com. http://www.nooga.com/159718/harrison-bay-eagle-cam-returns/  The photos are by our good friend and official Harrison Bay Eagle Cam photographer Bret Douglas.

Since Eloise laid her eggs on February 11th and 14th of last year and they have been actively rearranging the nests we are expecting and hoping to have some eggs laid rather soon.  Just waiting to see which nest they decide is the proper one for this year.

Eagle attacks owl for "squatting" in nest

For several weeks now the Harrison Bay Eagle Nest has been visited by a pair of owls during the nighttime hours.  We have been wondering what would happen if both the owl and the eagles encountered each other in the nest at the same time...well I guess we know now.

We are patiently waiting on Charter Communication to install our cable internet before we can broadcast from the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam for this year.  The high definition cameras we purchased for this year produce a massive amount of video information and our phone internet simply will not upload the information. 

Please bear with us.  We are hoping for an interesting and successful nesting season this year.

New Season, New Tree, New Equipment

Another exciting season for the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam has begun.  It has been several months since the unfortunate loss of Elliott and Eloise's little ones this past April and with the prospect of a new season they have decided they need a new home.   They have moved nesting locations to a different tree on the golf course for reasons maybe they only know.

The new nest is still located on the golf course and in a pine tree that is only slightly taller than the previous one.  We were hoping they would return to the home nest where all the cameras are located but they have found another home.  With gracious funding from the United States Golf Association and support from The Friends of Harrison Bay State Park, we have been able to continue the Eagle Cam Project and have recently installed a set of three cameras in the new nest.

Electrical power was extended from an existing irrigation control box to power the cameras for this year.  We have upgraded the equipment to transmit the signal wirelessly which minimized the amount of trenching needed.  We have also upgraded the cameras to 2 megapixel cameras which provide a crystal clear picture.

Angelo Giansante, a park ranger at Hiawassee State Park, was gracious enough to come back down this year to install the cameras in the tree.  With better equipment and experience from last year he installed all the camera and secured all the wire in less than four hours. 

The nest is about 100 feet in the 120 foot tall pine tree and Angelo said it looked very similar to the one from last year.

As with all projects at Harrison Bay, it was a team effort, but Mitch and Bill were responsible for the electrical and communication portion of the project.  Using wireless communication and ethernet cables this year were interesting to figure out but made it much easier to hook up and get working.

Angelo safely back on the ground after another successful camera installation.  Hopefully they will stay in this nest for a few years.

We will be working over the next several days to get the video feed out over the internet and loaded onto the website.  This is a still photo of the computer monitor in the office using my cell phone camera.  The detail and clarity of the new cameras is amazing and we can't wait to share this project with the world.

Camera Replacement

Well, it was always a major concern of ours that the cameras would be damaged by lightning and that is exactly what has occurred. The cameras were damaged during a storm last Thursday and so Angelo came back to Harrison Bay and removed them from the tree.  We had them checked by our electricians and we will have to replace them before this year's nesting season begins. 

 Angelo's visit was needed anyway regardless of the camera situation. To the left is a goosegrass plant which had started growing in the nest about a month ago.  It was beginning to take over the nest and the eagles were having to sit on top of it when they visited the nest.  The plant is about 5 feet across and the nest is only about 8 feet across.  Removing the plant will give Elliott and Eloise all the room they need in the nest.

We will repair the cameras and replace them before the season begins.  We are looking at adding audio to the project when we replace the cameras and are looking for someone who has some connections with Charter Communications in Cleveland to assist us with getting cable internet to the golf course maintenance building so we can provide a better outgoing signal.  If you can help please let us know.

Update on Elliott and Eloise

We wanted to share with all our Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Friends and followers that Elliott and Eloise are still at the golf course and are routinely seen returning to the home nest with new sticks and twigs.  They are very active around the course and we hope this year will be a much more successful year than last.

Update on the Eagle Cam Project itself.  For those who were concerned about the quality of video and the lack of sound last season we are currently investigating the possibility of getting high speed cable internet to our recording and broadcasting location and are talking with our electronic experts about the best small outdoor microphone for our location.  Hope everyone is having a fun and safe summer. 

Keep Elliott and Eloise in your prayers.

Better luck next year, let's hope

The Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project has been a source of great pride, excitement, and yes, even disappointment this year. The failure of the eaglets to survive is not a failure of the project but rather a common act of nature. It is a quick reminder that we are watching wild animals in their natural environment and with that come the good and bad aspects of nature.

Whether it was the unusual early spring temperatures this year or the disruption of the storms and tornado that came through our area or just simply nature itself that caused the nesting attempt to fail we may never know. This year’s project was a great learning experience and allowed us to accomplish exactly what we set out to do; view and experience the nesting process of the two bald eagles that so graciously call our golf course home. So with that in mind the project itself was not a failure but a resounding success.

Since December 2010 when the eagles first arrived at the golf course til now the sight of them flying overhead has not lost it’s sense of wonder and awe. The eagles have not left the golf course which gives us great hope for a return to nesting next season. They are spending the nights in the trees near the nest tree and have built several roosting platforms around the golf course where they can peacefully sit and keep watch over their domain.

We cannot thank all of the project supporters that made the project possible enough. Beyond the financial support they provided encouragement and expertise which aided in the project’s success. We would especially like to recognize The Friends of Harrison Bay State Park, the United States Golf Association Green Section, Volunteer Electric Cooperative, the East Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association, and the TORO Company and their Tennessee distributor Smith Turf and Irrigation of Nashville, Tennessee for their generous support. The support of these organizations along with the continued support of individual donors will insure the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project will continue on for many more years.

We were equally grateful of our friends in the media which provided a great deal of publicity for the project with newspaper articles, radio and news interviews, and special features in magazines and websites. Articles such as these below created a great wave of excitement and brought many interested parties to the project.
USGA
Times Free Press
Times Free Press

The good news is the eagles have not left the area and regularly return to the nest, still carrying sticks and rearranging the pine needles as if they are ready to begin nesting at any minute. With this encouraging activity happening we eagerly look forward to our next nesting season, one which we hope will be successful on all accounts.

As with many first year projects there were many lessons learned which we will take note of with the intent of improving the project for the years to come. We quickly became aware of the need for a microphone near the nest so we could hear the eagles call out to one another and this will be our main priority as we look toward next year. Another area which we will look to address will be a quicker internet connection which will allow for a clearer, crisper picture without the distortion we experienced this year.

We are very thankful for the support and encouragement we have received for everyone. The website was a huge success with over 52,000 visitors from 37 countries logging on to view the eagles. We are thankful for those who have donated their time, talents, and money for the future of the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam Project.