It's been a winter of firsts for Big Bear bald eagles Jackie and Shadow.
The pair welcomed a rare third egg to their clutch in late January. Then, the severe storm that hit Southern California last week led Jackie to hunker down for 62 hours straight to protect her small family, sometimes completely covered in snow.
Now “pip watch,” the online vigil for the first holes the eaglets make in their shells, is just around the corner, and devoted fans of the webcam stars are waiting to see how they fare. the eggs.
Jackie's stint protecting her eggs from the storm made national news, with video showing her poking her head through the drifted snow in the 5-foot-wide nest swinging high in a pine tree above Big Bear Lake. .
Sometimes “she's the only one he trusts,” said Sandy Steers, a biologist and longtime executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley. But even for a mother as devoted as Jackie, staying in the nest for 62 uninterrupted hours was a feat. Steers said the last such stretch occurred a couple of years ago and peaked at 37 hours.
Steers and Friends of Big Bear Valley have been monitoring the resident bald eagles for nearly a decade via a solar-powered webcam. It is active all year round.
“We have three people who operate the camera,” Steers said, “including one in Italy who operates it when everyone here is asleep.”
Jackie and Shadow have attracted a devoted following and Steers believes their personalities keep viewers engaged. “They're amazing and fun,” he said. “You can tell when they are arguing with each other; You can tell when they are caramelized.”
Shadow is “a little mischievous,” which she says is a good balance for Jackie, who “is very serious and in charge.”
Jackie was serious last week when the storm, which hit Southern California hard with rain, mudslides and damaging winds, brought mounds of snow to the San Bernardino Mountains.
“When the weather is bad,” Steers said, “she doesn't leave her eggs except to roll them over, roll over and lie down again.”
She didn't allow Shadow to hex her even when he called her, Steers said. She seemed to say to him, “I'm fine, but not yet; stay away,” he added. The female bald eagle is larger than the male, so “they can spread out across the nest and give it more protection.”
Once the weather calmed down and the sun came out, Shadow “still had to wait 10 or 15 minutes.”
Now fans are just waiting for pip's observation. Starting February 29, eagle-eyed spectators will look for any signs that the chicks are breaking into their shells.
Steers hopes webcam viewership will increase, just as it did when Jackie laid her eggs in late January and thousands tuned in to the series. As fans become interested in the couple and their balls, heartbreak is always possible.
In the past, Jackie and Shadow lost eggs that were not viable and some were eaten by crows. Once hatched, a juvenile bald eagle has less than a 50% chance of surviving its first year of life, according to the American Eagle Foundation.
But hopes are high.
Once pip monitoring begins, Steers said, “every little speck of dust, everyone is wondering: Is it a pip?” … We'll try to get closer” to look for signs that a shell is breaking.
View the live webcam here.
