Big Bear bald eagles Jackie and Shadow welcome first hatchling - Los Angeles Times
Low oxygen levels at high altitude are one of the reasons the Friends of Big Bear Valley group suspects Jackie’s three eggs failed to hatch that year. Cold, snowy winters and rainy springs also dim young eaglets’ chances of survival.
Bald eagle eggs typically have a 50-50 chance of hatching, according to Sandy Steers, biologist and executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley. Once hatched, fewer than 50% of eaglets survive their first year, according to the American Eagle Foundation.
Amy Hubbard is a deputy editor on the Fast Break Desk, the Los Angeles Times’ breaking news team. She’s worked in a range of departments at The Times since 1993, including as copy chief for daily Calendar, Travel, Books and the AM Copy Desk; SEO chief; morning editor on the Metro desk; and assistant newsletters editor. In 2015, she began a four-year stint at personal finance website NerdWallet, where she was the Banking editor. Hubbard is a graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia, School of Journalism.
