The Friends of Big Bear Valley organization says their eaglet has been officially named!
The chick hatched on March 3 this year, in a nest in the San Bernardino National Forest. It was the first healthy chick in two years for Big Bear’s famed bald eagle pair Jackie and Shadow.
The second egg in the same nest never hatched.
Nearly 10,000 names were submitted, but Spirit won out for the baby bald eagle, whose gender is not yet known. The winning name was sent by Patti G, according to the organization.
Thirty-five names were randomly drawn, and then were sent off to local elementary school classrooms to be put to vote.
The eaglet naming contest was a fundraising effort, requiring a $10-$50 donation to submit names. Some submitters are getting prizes that range from eagle merchandise like totes and T-shirts, to a painting of Jackie and Shadow, Spirit’s parents.
Friends of Big Bear Valley said there were 2,641 total entries with 9,963 names submitted.
These were the runner-ups:
- 2nd place – Lil’ Dipper
- 3rd place – Hunter
And the rest of the drawn names, In no particular order:
- Miracle
- Rocket
- Poppy
- Vivi
- Sami
- Maverick
- Spree
- Mila
- Cozy
- Squish
- Frankie
- Milagro
- Whisper
- Champ
- Buzz
- Angel
- Sparky
- Wonder
- Lucky
- Uno
- Sky
- Smores
- Thorn
- Bingo
- Liberty
- Indy
- Skylar
- Cloud
- Soarin
- Pippy
- Sticks
As of last week, Friends of Big Bear Valley report that Spirit is about 5-7 pounds in weight and has a thick coat of dark thermal down which helps the baby stay warm. Several tracts of body feathers (back, shoulders, nape, head) and all flight feathers are now distinct, the update says.
Over the next few weeks, those watching the live eagle nest cam will be able to see Spirit become more active and interested in what’s around them. This includes walking on toes with more confidence, perching on sticks in the nest and grasping nesting materials with its talons, the organization adds.