After Jackie and Shadow, the famous bald eagle couple in Big Bear, lost their eggs last month, fans are holding out hope that they’ll lay a second round of eggs this season.
Bald eagles generally have one clutch — the group of eggs laid in each nesting attempt — per season. But a replacement clutch is possible if the eggs don’t make it through the early incubation process, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley.
The nonprofit runs a popular YouTube livestream of the nest and Jackie and Shadow.
In January, nest watchers were saddened to see the eggs were breached by ravens. But because the eggs were lost so early in the season, Jenny Voisard, the organization’s media manager, told LAist they’re hopeful there’s still time for another clutch.
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Jackie is typically fertile and able to lay eggs January through April each year, according to the organization. Several years ago, Jackie laid a second clutch after the eggs were broken or breached by ravens.
Voisard said that while there’s no guarantees in nature, people are hopeful this isn’t the end of Big Bear’s nesting season.
“Chicks are always welcome and we love them so much, but we love Jackie and Shadow,” she said. “We're going to remain optimistic.”
What happened to the eggs?
Jackie laid the first egg of the season on Jan. 23 and the second egg on Jan. 26 as thousands of fans watched online.
By Jan. 30, viewers noticed that Jackie and Shadow had left their nest unattended for hours at a time.
Friends of Big Bear Valley wondered if the eagles were practicing delayed incubation, and whether a third egg was on the way for the third season in a row, according to Voisard. The Big Bear bald eagles have practiced delayed incubation in previous seasons, which is when they don’t incubate full time until the last egg is laid, usually three days apart.
But that wasn’t the case this time.
“When the raven was able to get so close, we had suspicions,” Voisard said. “Earlier in the day, we were examining and rewinding and looking at one of the eggs because it wasn't looking right to us.”
The organization zoomed in with the livestream camera and confirmed an egg was cracked. A raven came back to the nest again later that day and breached both eggs.
“The fact that the egg was broken could have signaled to the raven to come,” Voisard said.
More bald eagles have been seen in the Big Bear area, and the animals’ territorial activity could have also contributed to Jackie and Shadow’s time away from their nest, according to the organization.
When Friends of Big Bear Valley announced the loss of the eggs on its Facebook page, which has more than 1 million followers, fans flooded the comments to share their sadness about the situation.
“My heart hurts for Jackie and Shadow,” a Facebook user wrote in a comment. “Do Eagles have feelings? Are they sad? Are they grieving? Are the[y] angry at the ravens?”
Voisard stressed that the ravens didn’t do anything wrong, nor did Jackie and Shadow. It’s just part of nature, she said.
Another Facebook comment asked why Friends of Big Bear Valley didn’t move the livestream camera around to try and scare the raven off.
While the organization understands the instinct to want to help the eagles, Voisard said humans are not allowed to intervene during nesting season.
What about past seasons?
A second clutch is possible if the eggs don’t make it through the early incubation process.
In 2021, Jackie laid the first egg on Jan. 6. It was destroyed by a raven the next day, according to organization records. Jackie laid the second egg Jan. 9 that year, and the third on Jan. 13. Both were broken or eaten by ravens.
But about a month later, Jackie had a second clutch of eggs.
She laid the first egg on Feb. 8, 2021 and the second three days later. One chick didn’t survive the hatching process, while the other egg wasn’t viable after more than 50 days of incubation.
In 2023, Jackie laid two eggs in mid-January that were both breached by ravens on March 7, according to organization records.
Voisard said Friends of Big Bear Valley volunteers were curious as to whether the eagle couple would lay another clutch that year. They came to believe later that it was too late in the season.
Looking ahead
The eagles have withdrawn from incubation and have been spending more time away from the nest, according to the nonprofit.
Voisard said the withdrawal was a “really good thing” that may open the door to more eggs.
For Jackie’s hormones to reset, the bald eagle duo need to go back to bonding and working on their nest, which Friends of Big Bear Valley refers to as the birds' “nestorations.” It typically includes deliveries of sticks and fluff to furnish their long-time nest, which is toward the top of a Jeffrey pine tree overlooking Big Bear Lake.
The duo did some of that work Sunday, which the organization said is a hopeful sign bonding and nesting behaviors may be returning. Shadow, or the “Stickman,” as some fans call him, has brought at least three new sticks to the nest since the eggs were lost, according to organization records.
Jackie and Shadow have also been heard mating in the area, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley.
