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Animal fanatics are buzzing with excitement and joy over the successful hatching of Big Bear eagles Jackie and Shadow’s eggs.
As nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley livestream the bird family’s nest much to the happiness of the eagles’ fans, the bird couple is working diligently to keep their two chicks and remaining egg warm to survive the elements.
Sandy Steers, Executive Director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, said anxious animal lovers need not fret over the remaining egg since it still has another week to hatch.
“It was only yesterday, last evening, that it was old enough to be fully developed so it’s really only just started its pip watch,” Steers said. “It still has a high chance of hatching.”
The two eaglets have yet to be named, but the public will be able to help with that. At a later date, the nonprofit will welcome suggestions. The organization will then draw about 30 names that were suggested, then let local third graders vote for the top ones.
In the meantime, Jackie and Shadow have been attentive to their eaglets by feeding them nutritious servings of fish and other birds. Steers jokes that Jackie is the head of the household in the sky-high nest and said she has “rules” for her mate.
“If it’s night, she won’t let Shadow come on the nest,” Steers said. “He can’t sit on the eggs, she has to … And if it’s storming, she’s the one on the nest. Any other time, she will decide whether she’s leaving or whether Shadow can be on the nest or not.”
Although Shadow takes the majority of Jackie’s leads in stride, he’s been observed to pull stunts of his own to get his way for the greater good.
A beautiful moment was captured live in a nest in Big Bear Valley, California.
“He has tricks to play on her,” the organization’s director said. “Sometimes he puts sticks on her and things like that to make her get up and move and then he kind of sneaks behind her and makes her take a break.”
The two eagle parents will have about 10 to 14 weeks to enjoy time with their little ones before they leave the nest – literally. In order for eaglets to be on their own, they must be fully grown and able to catch prey on their own. While they get the hang of adulthood, they chicks will be able to count on their parents for guidance.
“They may revisit for a few months and Jackie and Shadow will follow them to feed them but after they can survive on their own, they take off,” Steers said.
That’s not to say they’d receive a warm welcome from mom and dad if they were to return, though. Steers said it’s quite the opposite.
“By the next season, they’d be considered intruders in the nest,” she said.
To learn more about Jackie and Shadow or Friends of Big Bear Valley, click here.
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