What to Know
- Jackie and Shadow are the world-famous bald eagles of Big Bear Lake
- A tree-high camera run by the nonprofit organization Friends of Big Bear Valley keeps an around-the-clock eye on the eagles' nest
- Jackie laid three eggs in the early part of 2024, but none were viable; the eagles are approaching their next possible egg-hatch cycle, which usually arrives in mid-to-late January
So many of us spend our Decembers engaged in various household chores; we're moving sofa pillows before the guests arrive, and changing chairs around, and counting our forks, spoons, and knives ahead of the big holiday dinner.
You might say that Jackie and Shadow, the obsessed-over avian icons of Big Bear, also tend to numerous domestic duties in December: They can sometimes be found performing "nestorations" at their world-famous aerie, the sizable bowl of sticks and branches that sits high up in a Jeffrey pine.
True, they're not always in or near the nest, even during the fall — other forest critters do make fascinating cameos, getting their big moment on camera — but the bonded duo has been flying by in recent days to, well, move sticks.
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Sticks and pinecones, that is: Eagle-eyed aficionados who follow the pair know that the birds usually always seem to have at least a few prominent cones festooning their pine-scented pad.
This stick-centric spiffy-up may sound like a simple duty, but it foretells of frosty days ahead, when Jackie may again lay an egg or two. Or, yes, three, as she did at the beginning of 2024 (the eggs were not viable).
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The eagles are known to spend time in the later part of autumn carefully fussing over their airy abode, improving the branchy "guardrails" around the nest before any eggs, and potential eaglets, make an appearance.
Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit organization that oversees the nest camera, shared a video clip of the eagles' Nov. 29 visit to Jeffrey pine, as well as an informative update about what's been happening with the well-known birds.
"Jackie and Shadow must have decided they were away from the nest just a little too long for their beloved fans, so they returned yesterday to check in and also to enjoy a little evening rendezvous together," shared the post.
No mating has been yet spied this season, but the organization suggests that we "... continue to be patient and let nature dictate."
For more on the recent nest visit, the juvenile eagles seen in the area, and all things Jackie and Shadow, wing over this way now.
