Jackie and Shadow
{{Short description|Wild bald eagles in California}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
Jackie ({{circa|2012}}) and Shadow ({{circa|2014}}) are a wild female and male bald eagle couple who reside near Big Bear Lake in San Bernardino County, California. Their attempts to hatch and raise offspring have been live-streamed by Friends of Big Bear Valley since 2018.
History
Bald eagles from points farther north, such as Idaho or Canada, migrate to Big Bear Valley, but most do not stay year-round.{{Cite news |last=Forgione |first=Mary |date=January 22, 2020 |title=How a pair of bald eagles became Southern California rock stars |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2020-01-21/big-bear-lake-bald-eagles-two-eggs-nest-webcam |access-date=March 10, 2025 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} San Bernardino National Forest rangers discovered in 2012 that this area had become nesting territory for eagles.{{Cite news |last=Wigglesworth |first=Alex |date=July 24, 2019 |title=Watch this Big Bear bald eagle chick fly for the first time |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-07-24/big-bear-bald-eagle-first-flight |access-date=March 10, 2025|newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} As of 2020, Jackie and Shadow were the only year-round bald eagle residents at Big Bear Lake.
Jackie, believed to be the first eaglet hatched in Big Bear Valley,{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/animalkind/2023/03/05/big-bear-bald-eagle-live-nest-cam/11377425002/|title=Highs, lows and heartbreak: How a pair of California eagles developed a worldwide fanbase|first=Amanda Lee|last=Myers|newspaper=USA Today|date=March 6, 2023}} came to the public's attention in 2017, when she and her mate took over an abandoned nest beside a live-stream camera installed by Friends of Big Bear Valley.{{Cite news |last=Sharp |first=Julie |date=March 4, 2025 |title=Big Bear nest welcomes 2 baby eaglets, making Jackie and Shadow proud parents |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/big-bear-nest-hatch-2-baby-eaglets-jackie-shadow-parents/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |work=CBS Los Angeles |language=en-US}} Shadow came to the public's attention one year later, when he replaced Jackie's mate at that nest.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.countryliving.com/life/inspirational-stories/a46818787/bald-eagle-baby-watch-2024/|title=This Bald Eagle Nest Cam in California's Big Bear Valley Will Melt Your Heart|date=February 25, 2024|magazine=Country Living|author=Terri Robertson}} The nest itself is {{convert|145| feet}} above ground in a Jeffrey pine in the National Forest near Fawnskin.{{Cite news |last=Cruz |first=Rene Ray De La |date=March 6, 2025 |title=Fans in frenzy as Jackie and Shadow’s third eagle egg begins to hatch in Big Bear nest |url=https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2025/03/06/jackie-and-shadows-third-eagle-egg-begins-to-hatch-in-big-bear-nest/81814155007/ |work=Victorville Daily Press |language=en-US}} As the tree is near a parking lot, picnic area, and campsite, the Forest Service closes these facilities during nesting season each year, only reopening the area once the offspring have fledged.{{Cite news |last=Forgione |first=Mary |date=June 26, 2019 |title=Watch webcam of Big Bear’s eagle chick trying to fly, but don’t go near it |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-travel-big-bear-bald-eagle-chick-first-flight-20190626-story.html |access-date=March 10, 2025 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}
The live-stream gained significant attention in 2023, when Jackie and Shadow attempted to hatch eggs despite multiple atmospheric rivers that brought {{convert|45|inches|meters}} of snow to the area.{{Cite web|url=https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sites/jackie-and-shadow-big-bear-bald-eagle-live-cam|title=Jackie and Shadow / Big Bear Bald Eagle Live Cam|date=February 27, 2023|website=Know Your Meme}} As of February 2024, Jackie and Shadow have laid 14+ eggs together, five of which have hatched, with two or three of the eaglets surviving into adulthood.{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/02/03/california-bald-eagles-three-eggs/72458669007/|title=California bald eagles care for 3 eggs as global fans root for successful hatching|newspaper=USA Today|first=Amanda Lee |last=Myers|date=February 3, 2023}}{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-02-29/bald-eagles-jackie-shadow-big-bear-eggs-pip-watch | title=Blizzard babies? Pip watch has begun for bald eagles Jackie and Shadow as storm rolls in | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=February 29, 2024 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/bald-eagles-jackie-shadow-abandon-eggs-1785962|title=Bald eagles who gripped the internet finally abandon eggs that won't hatch|author=Robyn White|date=March 7, 2023|magazine=Newsweek}}{{Cite news |last=Marcos |first=Coral Murphy |date=March 4, 2025 |title=Pair of bald eagles welcome two hatchlings in California |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/04/bald-eagles-hatchlings-california |access-date=March 5, 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
In 2025, the pair successfully hatched three eggs, but one eaglet died a few days after hatching, during a winter storm.{{cite news |first1=Rebecca |last1=Cohen |first2=Audrey |last2=Liviakis |date=March 15, 2025 |title=Eaglet that disappeared from nest in California 'did not make it' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/eaglet-disappeared-nest-california-died-jackie-shadow-rcna196599 |work=NBC News}} The two surviving eaglets were later named Sunny and Gizmo. The names, chosen from 54,000 submissions, were voted on by third, fourth, and fifth grade students at Big Bear Elementary School.{{Cite news |title=Jackie and Shadow's internet-famous eaglets get names |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/internet-famous-eaglets-names/story?id=120406321&ICID=ref_fark |first=Yi-Jin |last=Yu |date=April 2, 2025 |work=ABC News |language=en}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/ Friends of Big Bear Valley]
- [https://www.youtube.com/@FOBBVCAM/streams Friends of Big Bear Valley livestreams]