Southern California’s favorite bald eagle couple Jackie and Shadow have not one, but TWO new eaglets!
The moment the first eaglet hatched was captured on the Friends of Big Bear Valley (FBBV) live camera feed around 11:26 p.m. on Monday, according to the nonprofit’s Facebook post. Before that day, the couple had three eggs they were preparing to hatch. “Hatching is a long process. It may take a day or more for the chick to fully emerge from the shell,” Friends of Big Bear Valley wrote via Facebook.
“Before midnight, the first chick had its wing and head visible and a short time later, it was out!” FBBV’s Facebook post said. “Jackie pushed it back in a bit as she rolled the eggs, but it’s first touch down will be the official hatch time: 23:26, cam time… Welcome to the world, Chick#1!” Heading into Tuesday, the second egg was “moving forward quickly on its hatching process.” The second eaglet could be seen emerging from its egg on Tuesday at 4:29 a.m. Now, all that is left to hatch is the final egg.
Now all that remains to be seen is if the third egg, which was laid a few days after the first two, hatches. Bald eagle eggs are laid in early February and take an average of 35 days to hatch, according to East Tennessee State University. Their San Bernardino National Forest nest is world-famous, thanks to an eagle cam installed in 2013 by the nonprofit, Friends of Big Bear Valley.
The twin “bobbleheads,” as they are affectionately referred to while the young grey fuzzy hatchlings’ heads bob about atop their still underdeveloped necks, are especially welcome after the heartbreak of last year’s non-hatch.
Jackie resolutely refused to move from her eggs as they incubated during the bitter winter of 2024. At times her body was barely recognizable under the snow drifts, and Shadow stood by her side and cared for her the entire time. Still after the 35 day incubation period and beyond, it became obvious that the couple’s three eggs would not hatch.
The couple mourned the loss, with Shadow refusing to give up, rolling the eggs and roosting even after Jackie knew it was a lost cause. Finally, Jackie and Shadow left the eggs, knowing that Ravens would follow and finish the circle of life. Despite losing the eggs last March, the couple kept trying as they swapped places in the nest often and argued over who would tender to the potential offspring, according to the nonprofit.
Sandy Steers, FBBV’s executive director, told USA Today in March 2024 that altitude and harsh temperatures may have factored in the couple’s eggs failing to hatch. “As to why the eggs have not hatched, we have no way of knowing,” Steers said. “It could be environmental, such as temperatures, humidity percentages, oxygen levels at high altitude, etc. It could be biological with something just being off at the time the eggs were created.”
Although 2023 and 2024 wereheartbreaking years, Jackie and Shadow have been relatively successful at birthing babies with the couple welcoming sets of chicks in 2019 and 2022.
As for the possibility that there could be three chicks in one nest, well, that could be a tight squeeze. Speers said there are weather concerns for the bobbleheads, as the eaglets need to stay covered by either mom or dad fairly continuously until they have insulating feathers to protect them from harsh temperatures and predators.
“Hopefully there’s no bad weather after they get too big to stay underneath Jackie or Shadow, but (they) don’t have their waterproof feathers yet. It will take about six weeks before they get their waterproof feathers.” The more eaglets that take up space, the less their parents can keep them consistently covered, no matter how hard they try.
As far as survivability, Jackie and Shadow will be feeding the eaglets on a nearly constant basis. “The two of them will both work to get as much food as they can and they will grow very quickly. It only takes 10 to 14 weeks before they go from this tiny little thing to over 3 feet tall,” Steers said.
You can follow along with Jackie and Shadow’s family journey by tuning in to the Friends of Big Bear Valley (FBBV) Cam on YouTube.
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Photo Credit: Petar Marshall / Shutterstock.com