By Julie Sharp
Updated on: March 14, 2025 / 1:00 PM PDT / KCAL News
Just as all three eaglets hatched from their eggs in the Big Bear nest about one week ago, on Friday morning, only two of the little ones could be seen bobbing about for their feeding.
The Friends of Big Bear Valley’s nest cam captures the nest life of Jackie and Shadow. The nonprofit group shares updates and insights into bald eagle behavior.
Sandy Steers, Executive Director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, acknowledged early Friday that the nest view is obstructed by snow, but to “please hold positive thoughts as we wait to be updated by nature.”
Jackie laid the first of three eggs this season on Jan. 22, and the other two came over the next few days. Livestream-watchers patiently waited for over a month as Jackie sat on the eggs through rain and snow.
Two eaglets hatched within days of each other in early March, with the third arriving several days later.
“Thrilled beyond imagination, excited and after waiting so long for these chicks, I can’t even describe the emotions I’m having,” said Steers after the third hatching.
Steers’ joy came as Jackie and Shadow’s last two seasons were heartbreaking. Last January, Jackie laid three eggs, but none of them hatched. So, with three eggs in the clutch this season, nest cam viewing has swelled worldwide as Jackie can be seen nurturing her babies, feeding them, and laying atop them while she’s covered in snow.
Steers wouldn’t make any conclusions about the health or whereabouts of the third eaglet. She said the eaglets can’t get out of the nest bowl as they are too small for that and that all three were getting food, even during Thursday night’s feeding.
“We don’t know yet, because there is a portion of the nest bowl that is out of our camera view, and most likely the third chick is in that,” she said. “We don’t know what the situation is, or what the state of affairs is. But we just have to keep watching to see what happens.”
Julie SharpJulie Sharp is a digital producer at CBS Los Angeles. She is a South Bay native and majored in print journalism at Cal State University Long Beach.
