Harrison Bay EagleCam Goes Live
The EagleCam has landed... at Harrison Bay State Park.
Birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts around the area started buzzing when a pair of bald eagles built a nest and raised a family last winter on the Bear Trace Golf Course along the shores of Chickamauga Lake at Harrison Bay State Park. As eagles are prone to do, the pair has returned, apparently to nest again. But this time the entire world can watch it all unfold via the Internet.
Bear Trace Golf Superintendent Paul Carter has been working for months to set up a live streaming web cam placed high atop a pine tree a mere 30 feet from a golf green. Carter was a happy man when the last piece of the puzzle fell into place and the Harrison Bay Eagle Cam went live Thursday morning.
HARRISON BAY EAGLECAM LIVE STREAM (Bookmark this page to return)
Carter, who admits he knew nothing about eagles at the time, said he first started thinking about the idea last year.
"I started watching other live eagle webcams online and just thought it would really be neat to do that here," he said. "I just started working through the logistics of what it would take to get it done."
One thing it took was money. Carter says he has budgeted about $5,000 for the project this season. He says it wouldn't be possible without sponsorship from the Friends of Harrison Bay, the U.S. Golf Association, the local Golf Course Superintendents Association, and a grant from Volunteer Electric.
"Hopefully we're going to be able to get some additional donations this year to allow us to upgrade next year," said Carter. "We hope to get a better quality camera."
Prior to getting the webcam live, Carter has posted lots of sample videos on YouTube, and posted on his EagleCam Blog.
The nest is 75 feet high, 6-7 feet across, and 6 feet tall. The webcam is hardwired via about 1,000 feet of cable running to the golf course maintenance building. He said Park Ranger Angelo Giansante from Hiwassee State Park came in to do the "tree-climbing work" for them.
"He worked for a full day-and-a-half to get everything in place up there," said Carter. "We actually have a second overhead camera on the nest as well that we're still working to get online."
He says right now the eagles really aren't on the nest a whole lot, but that will change as the female begins to lay eggs around the end of January. And once she has laid her eggs, she'll be on the nest almost around the clock. Sometimes she'll leave to feed or the male will bring her food... mostly fish taken from Chickamauga Lake.
But Carter says right now the eagles usually come in to the nest around 7:15 or 7:30 each morning to do some "housekeeping." He says they will usually stay 30 minutes or so before heading out again. He says sometimes however they may "pop in" for a few minutes during the day.
Carter's 8-year-old daughter Hannah has dubbed the pair Elliott and Eloise. Carter hopes the project shows the public that golf courses aren't the environmental nightmares some people claim.
"We want people to see that golf courses can be quality environments," he said. "It's very rare to find nesting bald eagles this close to civilization, much less 30 feet from a golf course green."
Of course Carter says no one is allowed on the golf course except golfers. However beginning sometime in March, every Tuesday morning, they will host an "eagle watching excursion" for anyone interested. Carter said once the visits begin, folks will need to sign up at the A-Frame Office Building at the main entrance to the Harrison Bay Park and then on Tuesday morning, a ranger will escort them out to watch the eagles in person.
The female eagle is expected to lay two or three eggs around the end of January. It takes the eggs about 35 days to hatch and the young birds will probably fledge around the end of April. Of course they will remain in the area, potentially using the nest as home base for another month or two. That means folks have at least four months, maybe more, to watch this natural phenomenon unfold live online.
Carter said, "Of course the Eagle Cam is actually just a fraction of the environmental work we're doing out here. This is just sort of a stamp of approval, for the eagles to choose to make a home here. It makes you feel like you're doing something good."
Learn more at: www.harrisonbayeaglecam.org/
