Big Bear Bald eagles Jackie and Shadow welcome third chick - Los Angeles Times
Movement was spotted in the third egg via livestream on Thursday as the days-old hatchlings nestled in their snowy Big Bear nest. The triplet poked through its shell and was mostly visible just after 2 a.m. Saturday. It had fully emerged by 6:13 a.m., just in time for food.
The third bald eagle chick poked through its shell and was mostly visible just after 2 a.m. Saturday. Its siblings hatched a few days earlier.
(Friends of Big Bear Valley)
“All three beautiful bundles of fluff were fully visible, sitting up and ready for breakfast,” Friends of Big Bear Valley shared on its Facebook page. “They all look dry, healthy and full of energy. As they jostle around for positioning, the newest one will have plenty of food still from its yolk for a few days.”
The nonprofit conservation group operates a 24-hour webcam trained on the eagles’ nest overlooking Big Bear Lake and has closely monitored the avian couple for a decade. Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, said that the livestream has recently seen record viewership.
Thousands of people have followed the eagles’ parenting journey and were buoyed by Saturday’s good news, which follows years of disappointment.
In 2023, the eagles’ eggs were eaten by ravens. Last year, severe cold weather prevented another trio of eggs from hatching.
Jackie and Shadow have diligently tended to their chicks, trading off feeding and sleeping times while protecting them from the elements.
Colleen Shalby is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She has covered education, the pandemic, the vaccine rollout and breaking news throughout California. She was part of the team that was a 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist for coverage of a dive-boat fire off the Santa Barbara coast. Shalby grew up in Southern California and graduated from George Washington University. She previously worked for PBS NewsHour and joined The Times in 2015.
