In another sad development for Jackie and Shadow, Big Bear’s famous pair of nesting bald eagles, birds have destroyed their first egg of the year, video showed Thursday.
The incident, captured on the 24/7 “Eagle Cam” operated by the Friends of Big Bear Valley, occurred shortly after 12:30 p.m.
Jackie laid the egg, her first of 2021, about 5:41 p.m. Wednesday.
“Egg alert! Last night an egg was laid at the bald eagle nest in Big Bear,” a post on the San Bernardino National Forest’s Facebook read.
But less than 24 hours later, two ravens flew into the nest while Jackie and Shadow were away and cracked the egg, according to the video. A short time later, they began taking it apart and appeared to eat parts of the egg.
Jackie had just left moments before the predators swooped in and returned while the ravens were still in the nest, prompting them to fly away.
There’s been no sign of Shadow at the nest since Wednesday morning, according to a post on the Friends of the Big Bear Valley’s Facebook page.
“We do not know why he was not coming to help with the egg, but there is no cause for concern at this time,” the post stated.
It’s possible, however, that Jackie could lay another egg this season — possibly within the next couple days, according to the post.
Nevertheless, Thursday’s incident marks the latest in a string of disappointing endings for the mating couple.
Last year, Jackie laid two eggs, one on Jan. 8 and the other 11. Neither ended up hatching.
And in 2019, she successfully hatched two eggs, but one of the eaglets died of apparent hypothermia after an unseasonably late snowstorm blew through the the region in May.
Currently, the area around the nest — which is located on the northwest side of Big Bear Lake — has been closed to help protect the nesting couple and any eggs and potential hatchlings, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
