A pair of bald eagles, Elliot and Eloise, is awaiting the arrival of two eaglets in a towering pine tree on the tenth hole of the Harrison, Tenn., golf course. The United States Golf Association contributed a live eagle cam to monitor each movement, from incubation through hatching, complete with microphone, pan and tilt zoom.
Eyes are turning to The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay in Harrison, Tenn., as a nest of bald eagles has two eaglets on the way, the Chattanooga (Tenn.)-based WTVC-TV NewsChannel 9 reported.
With the help of the United States Golf Association, a camera monitors each movement, which can be viewed here.
The towering pine tree on hole 10 is the home of the bald eagle Elliot and his mate Eloise. Eloise laid one egg on February 4 and the next on February 7, NewsChannel 9 reported.
“More eagles, oh I’d love to see them,” frequent golfer Brandon Farrow said. “As many as they can bring.”
Golf course superintendent Paul Carter has taken over the eagle project, which started in 2010. “The mission of this project is to show that golf courses can be environmental sanctuaries,” Carter said.
Since monitoring began, Elliot and Eloise have had 4 eaglets, with the next two to be named HB5 and HB6. HB stands for Harrison Bay, which has proven a beautiful home for these majestic birds, NewsChannel 9 reported.
In his rounds on the course, Farrow has seen them fly over numerous times. “It’s pretty awesome. I mean it’s a bird our country looks up to.”
The incubation period is usually 35 days. If all goes well, Harrison Bay should see two eaglets in the second week of March. “To know that they would trust our golf course enough to raise their family makes us really proud. It’s a tremendous thrill for us,” Carter said.
And this year, a microphone, pan and tilt zoom have been added to the camera. They plan to zoom in when the hatch happens, NewsChannel 9 reported.
Ron Patterson and his friends enjoyed the course and coming into the number 10 green. They play here quite often. “We get a bird’s eye view of them here every time we play golf. It’s great,” Patterson said.
C&RB included Bear Trace in “A Guide to ‘Going Native,’” in the October 2011 issue, making mention of a pair of nesting bald eagles on the golf course that “was a big stamp of approval that, environmentally, we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” Carter said.
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