Tens of thousands of curious bird lovers have their eyes on a particular nest in Big Bear Valley. Bald eagle Jackie — whose mate is Shadow — laid three eggs in January. Now it’s almost time for them to hatch. The birds’ journey can be watched via a YouTube livestream from Friends of Big Bear Valley. Notes about each day are also published daily.
Bird enthusiasts are on the hunt for pips, or the holes that chicks peck as they’re hatching, says Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley. The first egg was laid 38 days ago, and now these eaglets could emerge at any minute.
The first pips could be seen when Jackie or Shadow rotate their eggs, which happens about every hour. “They have to keep rolling the eggs so inside, the chick doesn't get stuck on the shell. … They will stand up and roll the egg or else trade places, and we zoom the camera in to see if we can check on the eggs at that time.”
The camera was initially set up in 2015 and captured its first eagle nesting two years later. Prior, Steers was forced to watch the nest from a parking lot about half a mile away. With the help of biologists from the U.S. Forest Service and donated funds, she installed the camera.
Earlier this year, Jackie gained national attention for protecting her eggs during some 62 hours in the snow, which Steers points out was an unusually long time. Jackie can endure cold temperatures because she has more than 7,000 waterproof feathers and an internal temperature of approximately 106 degrees.
Once the eaglets hatch, Steers says they’ll stay in the nest for up to 14 weeks — typically.
“There was one of Jackie's chicks that stayed 15 weeks. We thought he was going to be like the teenager in the basement that was just gonna stick, but he finally fledged,” Steers recalls.
The family will stick together for a while, however. That’s because eagles tend to travel together for the first five years of their lives.
“Jackie and Shadow will follow them and track them, make sure that they're getting fed. They will bring them food wherever they are, and teach them how to hunt,” Steers says.
She continues, “They travel to see where they want to be, find their own nesting area, [and] find their own mate.”