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After years of disappointment, there were indications that Big Bear Hugging Eagle couple Jackie and Shadow might soon be hatched on Sunday.
Friends from Big Bear Valley announced their discoveries Sunday afternoon. “The first pip was confirmed today at 15:09” (except that the line was all capitalized).
It’s a thrilling time for the conservation group that runs a 24-hour webcam showing the Eagles’ 145-foot-high nest in Jeffrey’s pines overlooking Big Bear Lake.
The fans on Pip Watch have surpassed the moon. Pipping is an online all-nighter and hoopra where a baby bird uses its beak to open a shell, and Pipwatch surrounds its activities.
“Tears of joy!!” Responded on Facebook. “It’s been a roller coaster of emotions over the last few years.”
“Ah, come on the little guy!!!” I wrote another.
In 2023, Jackie and Shadow eggs were eaten by Raven. And I also had a broken heart last winter. The pair added a rare third egg to their clutch in late January, but the cold weather was severe. At one point, the storm kept Jackie straight in the nest for 62 hours, sometimes completely covered in snow.
In winter 2024, Bald Eagle Jackie jumps out from under the snow that fell during a violent storm.
(Big Bear Valley Friend)
Low oxygen levels in high altitudes are one reason my Big Bear Valley friends suspect that Jackie’s three eggs could not be hatched last year. Cold, snowy winter and rainy springs also dim the chances of Young Ejarrett’s survival.
According to Sandy Steers, Friends biologist and executive director of Big Bear Valley, Bald Eagle Eggs usually have 50-50 chances to hatch. According to the American Eagle Foundation, if hatched, less than 50% of the Eagles survived their first year.
But hope was springing forever, and the couple had an astonishing three-egg clutch this year as well.
“Even if there’s a pip, it’s going to take at least a day for a chick to hatch, sometimes a long time,” Stairs told The Times on Pip Watch in 2024. “In nature, we need to be patient. It teaches us to breathe and enjoy the process, rather than focusing on the outcome.”
On Sunday, around 10pm, over 8,000 viewers watched a bald eagle sitting on a nest in the snow.
I woke up, shaking its wings, and as the camera zoomed in, the straw surrounding the trio of eggs became fuzzy. After that, I gently swayed back and forth on the egg.
Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
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