Live footage of a bald eagle nest has gone viral after one California nonprofit documented the births of two eaglets for hundreds of thousands of viewers.
On Tuesday, March 4, the Friends of Big Bear Valley nonprofit announced via Facebook that bald eagles Jackie and Shadow welcomed two chicks. The nonprofit began 24/7 streams of the bald eagle nest in the San Bernardino Mountains and quickly received over 1 million views.
This isn’t Jackie and Shadow’s first touch with fame. The two bald eagles became international sensations in 2023 when they were documented nesting their two eggs. Unfortunately, the two eggs were eaten by ravens, the Los Angeles Times reported then. Jackie laid three eggs in 2024, but they did not hatch.
Two years later, the two had three new eggs. On Monday, March 3, one of the three eggs hatched. The second eaglet began to hatch on Tuesday afternoon.
Big Bear Bald Eagles
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“Chick #2 has joined [the] party!” Friends of Big Bear Valley shared on Tuesday. “By the wee hours this morning, Chick #1 had become a fluffy fuzz ball as it’s downy covering dried into a soft gray coat.”
“Then Chick #2 started ‘zippering’ its way out of the shell,” read the post. “This is the final stage of hatching, as the little one pokes its egg tooth against the shell and uses its feet to spin it around and break a nearly straight line around the shell to crack it fully open.”
By 4:29 a.m., the second chick “pushed itself fully out of the shell to emerge into the world!”
“Soon after, Shadow called from a distance and Jackie seemed to be happily announcing that he was now Papa to 2 new fluffy chicks,” the post continued. “He couldn’t wait to see them, so dropped in right at sunrise…and got his first look at his 2 gorgeous babies.”
“He looked back and forth over them a few times before even moving in to settle on top,” the post read. “Then those tiny bundles kept moving around under there and Shadow had to rearrange himself a few times before he could get settled.”
As of Tuesday, the third egg had remained unhatched for 35 days. However, the nonprofit said it will continue to look for “signs of pipping in that egg.” The third egg could hatch next week, per the Los Angeles Times.
“I’m thrilled that they have hatchlings and they have two chicks after two years of no hatching,” Sandy Steers, the executive director of the Friends of Big Bear Valley, told the Times. “I’m thrilled for everyone watching. People are talking about tears of joy and that’s how I feel.”
Big Bear Bald Eagles
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Several enthusiastic Facebook users expressed their excitement learning that two eggs hatched. “The world has held its breath for this moment. Congrats to all,” one user wrote.
“I’ve been checking in with them all day. Ecstatic isn’t the word! I’m so so happy for them,” another wrote. “They’re such good parents and they deserve this!”
One user tagged the nonprofit in the comment and said their first-grade class is watching from Tennessee. “We have been watching since the first egg was laid. We are so excited to see the babies! We want to know if it’s unusual for them to successfully hatch all three eggs,” the comment read.
The nonprofit organization replied, “If all three eggs hatch, that would be a first for Jackie and Shadow.”
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Bald eagles were previously considered endangered, but since 2007, they are now classified as a protected species, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is illegal to harm, kill or sell bald eagles, their nests or eggs.
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