Bald eagle couple Jackie and Shadow abandon unhatched eggs in Big Bear
Popular bald eagle couple Jackie and Shadow have abandoned their two eggs weeks after they were due to hatch in a family nest in Big Bear.
But with a recent ruffling of some feathers and some help from nature, Jackie may soon be laying one or more eggs.
Since mid-January, the eagle couple took turns keeping the eggs warm through several storms, including a blizzard and historic snowfall in the San Bernardino Mountains.
The departure of the eagles was announced on Sunday by the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley, which installed the Big Bear Bald Eagle Nest Cam to monitor the nest around the clock.
Jackie delivered the couple’s first egg of the year on Jan. 11, high atop a 14-story Jeffrey pine tree. Her second egg came on Jan. 14.
Eagle eggs typically incubate for about 35 days, which meant the couple should have welcomed new eaglets right around Valentine’s Day.
It’s uncertain why the eagle eggs didn’t hatch, said the nonprofit, which believes that they may have not fertilized, or stopped developing.
Letting go
The eagles took turns watching over the eggs until Jackie gave up her duties.
As has happened in the past, Shadow seemed more reluctant to let go. He sat a few times on the nest but was in and out like he couldn’t make up his mind. He left the eggs alone for a few hours, but returned to incubate the eggs, the nonprofit said.
Shortly after Shadow settled in, Jackie arrived. The couple had a “loud, serious back and forth discussion.” After what sounded like an “intense argument,” and then some begging from Jackie, Shadow got up and flew off the front porch.
After acting a bit unsure about getting into the nest, Jackie sat on the eggs, but only stayed put for 3 minutes. She got up and flew off the back porch toward Shadow on a nearby roost tree.
“As soon as she left the nest, Shadow started chortling from the roost tree, sounding upset,” the nonprofit said. “They argued back and forth again. Within a minute of them finishing that discussion, Shadow arrived back on the nest and took over sitting on the eggs for the night.”
It seems that Jackie, as she has done in the past, was working to get Shadow to accept what was happening with the eggs.
Shadow left the eggs at about 4:30 a.m.
“It seems that Jackie finally convinced Shadow to accept what was happening—neither of them visited the nest or sat on the eggs all day,” the organization said.
The eggs
A raven or other predator might get the eggs or they may get buried in the nest if Jackie and Shadow start bringing sticks, the friend’s group said.
It's also possible that Fiona, the flying squirrel who visits the nest at night, will try to carry them away as she has previously tried.
Jackie might lay another clutch of eggs. Bald eagles normally lay one clutch per year, but when something happens to the first eggs, they sometimes lay a second clutch, the nonprofit said.
“Jackie has done this in the past and has laid eggs as late as March,” the friend’s group said. “Jackie and Shadow were viewed mating since these original eggs were laid, so anything is possible. As always, they and mother nature get to determine what happens from here.”
Jackie and Shadow and their nest will be featured in an upcoming episode of the CBS TV show NCIS. The episode will air at 9 p.m. on March 13.
Miracle baby
Jackie and Shadow’s first eaglet, Spirit, was born in March 2022 and was considered a miracle baby by many.
In 2020 and 2021, Jackie’s clutches of eggs were either eaten by ravens or didn’t hatch.
Jackie’s and Shadow’s son, Cookie, died of apparent hypothermia during a storm on Memorial Day weekend 2019.
Simba was the couple’s last youth to successfully take flight and fledged in 2019.
In May 2022, Spirit climbed awkwardly up to a branch jutting out from the eagle family’s tree. Spirit stood there for nearly a minute before spreading her wings and taking her first flight.
The live feed from the eagle's nest can be viewed on the FOBBV CAM YouTube channel.
The price of fame
Bynette Mote, a Big Bear city councilwoman who has lived in the town for six years, said the eagles’ ever-growing popularity has been astounding to watch.
“It’s just amazing that two birds can connect the whole world,” she said. “It’s so cool that a very small town in Southern California can attract so much attention because of our two famous eagles.”
She said the eagle cam is like a “mini soap opera.”
“A lot of locals feel like aunts and uncles,” she said. “We all cry when they don’t have eggs and we celebrate when they do.”
Jackie and Shadow’s popularity isn’t always a good thing, though. From time to time, she said people cross barricades meant to protect the birds so they can get a closer look.
“You’ll hear people below on the camera saying, ‘Let’s try to find them,’” she said. “You know, you go to Hollywood and you take the tour bus that goes to celebrities’ houses. It’s kind of the same mentality. It’s a shame.”
Who's the boss?
Anyone who watches the eagle cam for even a few hours will quickly begin to observe the birds' many quirks.
Personality-wise, Jackie is definitely the boss.
"She's very determined, very serious, and she expects to get her way," said Sandy Steers, a Big Bear resident and executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley.
Jackie is also also bigger than Shadow and the main defender of the nest, which has to be guarded from ravens and other predators that would eat the couple's eggs.
Though Shadow has to weather Jackie's moods, he's her perfect match. Unlike Mr. B.
"She bossed Mr. B around like crazy and he was kind of wimpy," Steers said. "But Shadow kind of stands up to her sometimes, and she seems to like that better."
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Bald eagle couple abandon unhatched eggs in Big Bear
