Big Bear’s Bald Eagle Eggs Haven’t Hatched And People Are Worried

For a second year in a row, and after weeks of sitting in the snow, there’s still no sign of bald eagle babies poking through the three eggs that have been anxiously watched by thousands of people on a livestream.

Jackie and Shadow’s first egg is officially overdue as of this week, and the other two are just days behind.

Tens of thousands of people have been watching and waiting for the popular feathered couple to become parents once again, but as time wears on, there’s an increasing chance the eggs won’t hatch.

Why are we worried?

Mama Jackie laid the first egg on Jan. 25, the second egg just three days later, and the third on Jan. 31, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley records, the nonprofit organization that manages the livestream on YouTube.

“Pip Watch” — pip being the term for when an eaglet starts cracking its egg — started a little more than a week ago, with officials and fans keeping a close eye out for any cracks or holes.

But time is running out.

The normal incubation period for this nest on the north side of the lake in Big Bear Valley is between 35 to 39 days, and Friends of Big Bear Valley said eggs up to 41 days old have been known to hatch in other wild nests.

When Jackie and Shadow’s pair of eggs didn’t hatch last year, they slowly started leaving them unattended after 47 days of incubating. The nest was eventually raided by ravens, but the eggs may not have been viable to begin with.

Friends of Big Bear Valley said on social media that they were potentially never fertilized, or something happened that stopped their development early on, but there’s no way to know for sure.

Not all hope is lost

This is the first time Jackie and Shadow have had three eggs in the nest at once, and there’s a chance they delayed incubation until the last egg was laid, which would throw off the hatching timeline.

According to the Center for Conservation Biology, “development does not begin until the onset of incubation, so this delay serves to synchronize the brood.”

And while the livestream looked frigid, with snow flurries briefly falling onto the nest Thursday afternoon, bald eagles can stay comfortable in even colder climates. That's because they have thousands of feathers meant to keep water out and warmth in, according to the Raptor Resource Project.

They also maintain an internal body temperature around 104 degrees, and transfer some of that heat to their eggs when they lay in the nest nearly around the clock.

In the meantime, Friends of Big Bear Valley has encouraged people to remain patient and calm while we wait to see what happens.

“Sometimes watching nature is hard and our logical mind cannot understand and thinks it needs facts and absolutes,” the organization said Thursday afternoon. “At the same time, our emotional mind wants to have something to hold onto, something to calm its confusion and its fears.”

Friends of Big Bear Valley did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment, but they’ve said on social media they’ll be following Jackie and Shadow's lead — and the popular parents’ haven’t given up yet.