Big Bear’s most-watched eagles are proud parents, as two of their three nest eggs have hatched.
Parents Jackie and Shadow still have one egg to tend to, hopeful that a trio of eaglets will complete their new family.
Their San Bernardino National Forest nest is world-famous, thanks to an eagle cam installed in 2013 by the nonprofit, Friends of Big Bear Valley.
Sandy Steers, biologist and executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley said there are weather concerns, to a certain point, as the eaglets will have to stay under their mother. Also, space under mom gets tight if all three eggs hatch.
“Hopefully there’s no bad weather after they get too big to stay underneath Jackie or Shadow, but (they) don’t have their waterproof feathers yet. It will take about six weeks before they get their waterproof feathers.”
Friends of Big Bear Vallley
Jackie and Shadow successfully raised chicks in 2019 and in 2022, but the last two seasons were heartbreaking. Last January, Jackie laid three eggs and none of them hatched. It generally takes 35 days for eggs to hatch.
Jackie laid the first of three eggs this season on Jan. 22 and the other two came over the next few days. Livestream-watchers patiently waited for over a month, as Jackie sat on the eggs through rain and snow.
Finally, on March 2, the first “pip” on one of the eggs appeared – the crack in the shell as a bird begins to hatch. “Hatching is a long process. It may take a day or more for the chick to fully emerge from the shell,” Friends of Big Bear Valley wrote in a Facebook.
By Tuesday morning, two fluffy chicks shared the nest with Jackie and Shadow. “I’m excited and just over the moon,” Steers said.
Steers said there is still time for the third egg to hatch. “The third egg, well as of today (Tuesday), the end of today, is only 35 days old and they don’t hatch until at least 35, so there’s still time.”
As far as survivability, Jackie and Shadow will be feeding the eaglets on a nearly constant basis. “The two of them will both work to get as much food as they can and they will grow very quickly. It only takes 10 to 14 weeks before they go from this tiny little thing to over 3 feet tall,” Steers said.
