If you live with devices, then you live with the knowledge that tech management, the constant finessing, updating, and tweaking of your technology, is a fact of life.
But when you're a bald eagle, dealing with that sort of stuff isn't as easy as buying a new cord for a laptop or running an update on a favorite program.
Some trusty human help is required, and that's just what Jackie and Shadow, Big Bear Lake's celebrated bald eagle pair, enjoyed near the end of September 2021.
The day-to-day doings of the birds become something of a wintertime must-watch each year, as people around the planet keep a close eye on the arrival of any eggs and potential eaglets.
A new camera was installed to help our from-afar observations, and the Friends of Big Bear Valley, a group that advocates on behalf of the eagles and local wildlife, kindly shared a few fascinating photos of the process.
Eager to see just how enormous an eagle's nest really is? Eye the sky-high aerie, and a busy human in a nest, now.
7 photos
1/7
Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam
Time for a new camera: Dr. Peter Sharpe and Nate Melling were contracted to help install a fresh eye on the celebrated lake-close nest, in partnership with the Institute of Wildlife Studies. (Photo courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam)
2/7
Because Jackie and Shadow fans only ever see the birds in their stick-filled home, the photos of the project, which were shared on social media on Oct. 1, gave people a sense of the nest's enormous size. (Photo courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam)
3/7
Scaling the tall tree was one of the initial steps in reaching the high-in-the-sky perch. The nature organization shared this behind-the-scenes insight: "The photos show Pete and Nate both in the nest tree during the installation — with all of the wiring and location and equipment changes, Nate was in the nest on three separate days and for over 6 hours on one day alone." (Photo courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam)
4/7
Jackie and Shadow kept a watchful eye, from a nearby tree, on what was happening. (Photo courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam)
5/7
What changes can viewers expect? The older camera was kept but moved to a new location near the nest, so people could see the eagles flying in or out of their treetop home. (Photo courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam)
6/7
The new camera was placed in a higher position "... to give everyone a better view of the front porch limb." Shadow is also famous in the eagle fandom for his love of sticks, lots and lots of sticks, and the new camera's placement should prevent it from getting submerged in all of the sticks that arrive during the eagles' period of "nestoration." (Photo courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam)
7/7
For more on this project, and to see sweet snaps of the bald eagles as they prepare for the cold to come, visit the Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam social pages now. (Photo courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam)
