On the morning of March 4, 2025, bald eagle pair Jackie and Shadow — Big Bear Valley’s only year-round active eagle pair — welcomed two eaglets from a three egg brood. Thousands of viewers eagerly watched the hatching through the live nest cam, cheering on Jackie and Shadow, who had lost their eggs for three consecutive years. The last eaglet the pair raised was in 2022. On March 8, 2025, the third eaglet joined the family, additionally making it the first complete hatching since 2019.
In 2022, Jackie and Shadow incubated two eggs, but only one hatched an eaglet while the other remained unhatched. The eaglet, named Spirit, fledged in spring of 2022. The following year, in 2023, the couple had two eggs in the nest, and incubated them for longer than usual — typical incubation takes around 35 days — before ravens eventually found the eggs briefly unattended. In 2024, brutal El Niño weather brought heavy winter storms during Jackie and Shadow’s nest duty. Despite the cruel conditions, both tried their best to safely incubate the eggs; an unusual three egg brood. Unfortunately, after more than two months of incubation, none of the eggs hatched or showed signs of development. If the eggs or eaglets are lost, bald eagles will often engage in grieving behaviors to process the loss. Over the three consecutive years Jackie and Shadow lost their eggs, both eagles displaying a show of emotion each time in their own, eagle-y way.
Although the chicks have finally made it past incubation for the first time in years, Jackie and Shadow have many challenges still ahead of them; from blizzard-like conditions to ruthless raven attacks. Keeping the eaglets healthy with plenty of food and protection from the weather is crucial in the first month, as they are vulnerable and without weatherproof feathers.
Baby eagles, known as eaglets, are born with soft, fluffy gray feathers called “natal down.” The natal down provides very little insulation, and leaves the eaglets vulnerable without a parent to keep them warm. After a week or so, the eaglets develop a new layer of gray downy feathers, adding some protection. However, it’s not until around the one month mark that the eaglets begin to stimulate the uropygial gland, which secretes fluid during preening to protect their feathers from snowy or rainy weather.
Normally, bald eagles will travel through Big Bear, Calif. for the winter and leave in the summer, never to return. However, Jackie and Shadow are unusual, being the only pair that returns to nest each winter, as well as visiting often during the summer to tidy the nest or do various activities.
During nesting season, bald eagles are quite compulsive, usually building more than one nest in their territory over time. Pairs, like Jackie and Shadow, will bond together by gathering sticks for the nest or arranging them to perfection. The nest in use by the couple has been in Big Bear for more than a decade, the same nest where Jackie was raised. Friends of Big Bear Valley, a non-profit organization, has a live nest camera that runs 24/7 on YouTube and shows the behaviors of the bald eagle family.
The couple’s hard work and diligence over their eggs led to a successful year for the eagles. Hatching a full brood of three adorable eaglets is a well-awaited victory for not only Jackie and Shadow, but for birders and nature fans both nationally and even internationally, and provides a beacon of good news for the world; courtesy of five bald eagles tucked away in a towering tree by Big Bear Lake.
