Big Bear celebrity bald eagles Jackie and Shadow have topped headlines this week after welcoming three eaglets into their nest.
After much anticipation, the couple welcomed their first chick late Monday, the second on Tuesday, and the third on Thursday.
The newly established family is now facing their first big challenge: intense winter weather.
The early March storm created near white out conditions and prompted a winter storm warning throughout SoCal mountain communities. As of Friday afternoon, Big Bear has received 11-19 inches of snow over past seven days.
Temperatures Friday morning dropped as low as 23 degrees.
A livestream of the nest provided by environmental non-profit Friends of Big Bear Valley showed Jackie covering her newborns Thursday night and into Friday morning as ice and snow beat down on her feathers.
“Bald eagles have over 7,000 waterproof feathers on the outside that are keeping them dry, and then underneath that they have down layers,” said Sandy Steers, executive director of FOBBV during an interview with NBCLA.
“All those layers keep their body temperature at 105 degrees… they open their wings a little bit to sit over the chicks, and they’re keeping them warm and dry without any trouble.”
While colder weather isn’t a problem for the birds after hatching, Steers does suspect it may have played a role in last year’s heartbreak when Jackie’s eggs failed to hatch.
“Last year, especially because they had so much snow, and we are at a high altitude, since the eggs have pores and need to breathe, that all the snow stacked up and the low oxygen that’s already here, they just didn’t get enough oxygen to develop,” Steers said.
It appears Big Bear’s famed eagles have welcomed an eaglet into the world after one of their eggs hatched. This video was broadcast on the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Steers says the harsh conditions are just part of being an eaglet.
“They don’t seem to really notice after they’ve got their waterproof feathers, they don’t really care about the weather one way or the other,” she said.
Those feathers are expected to begin developing after six to seven weeks.
Merely hatching isn’t a sure sign the birds will make it to maturity either. Steers says current statistic indicate only 50%-60% of chicks make it out of the nest.
She also added she’s thrilled about all the attention the birds are getting.
“I’m thrilled that everybody is happy with Jackie and Shadow and following them because they’re learning about nature and connecting with nature, and that’s what we’re all about.”
The two eagle parents will have about 10 to 14 weeks to enjoy time with their little ones before they leave the nest. In order for eaglets to be on their own, they must be fully grown and able to catch prey on their own.
Snowfall is predicted to resume Monday night.
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