All eyes are on Jackie and Shadow, a pair of bald eagles whose nest is covered by several live cameras, after they had their first egg in late January and are now caring for three potential hatchlings.
The couple’s roost, located about 145 feet up in a Jeffrey Pine tree in Big Bear Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains is more than five feet wide and six feet deep, according to Sandy Steers with Friends of Big Bear Valley, the organization that operates the live cams.
Watchers can tell the bald eagles apart because Jackie is larger, her beak is both longer and thicker and her wingspan is over 7 feet. Shadow’s wingspan is 6.5 feet.
Steers said it’s Jackie who spends most of the time in the nest with her three eggs and will not typically allow Shadow to stay overnight.
“When they’re not [in the nest], they’re usually hanging out in the perch tree nearby,” the bald eagle expert explained. “We have a second camera, so we can often see the other one hanging out, keeping tabs and making sure if they get called into duty.”
“Pip watch,” meaning cracks that the eaglets make in the eggs using their tiny beaks, starts on Feb. 29, after an estimated 35 days or so of incubation.
“It’s the first time she’s had three eggs,” Steers said. “It’s a somewhat rare thing for eagles themselves.”
Egg Watch 2024 is underway on the Friends of Big Bear Valley’s YouTube page.