Community Chat

[LIG1]

@candys mine, it's a juvenile eagle and there were 2 seen on camera overnight. The other one appears to have been in the basement of the nest. Everyone is hopingthat it might be Gizmo and Sunny.

FOBBV will probably have a new video up soon of some of the overnight action, including a possible owl strike.  

[Tinkrbl44]

@shoekitty   @Tinkrbl44   @SoCal Bred   @spumoni99   @Jk9   @walker    @Pink123   @LIG1  @candys mine

2025-12-15

Passion, Perfection and Progress…

As we have seen these past few weeks, Jackie and Shadow are working efficiently to prepare the nest for eggs. Shadow delivered the first stick of the day late Sunday afternoon, and Jackie joined him with stick #2 less than a minute later.

After a brief work session together, they made a great tag team as they headed out of both porches to shop, select and retrieve four more sticks.

Jackie collected a superb, new, larger branch to contribute and after landing, she flipped it over using her strong foot. Then she grabbed it in her beak and proceeded to place it on the back porch. Using her beak again, she snapped a few twigs off and tested it to make sure it was solidly placed.

Another beautiful sunset was the backdrop last evening as they both spent time passionately adding more sticks and placing them perfectly. At one point, Shadow returned with stick #5 and zoomed past Jackie's head as she perched there on the back porch. He landed rather heavy-footed in the nest, breathing hard.

A few minutes later, Shadow hauled in a long, orangey, festive pine branch with small pokey twigs attached. Since he landed in the nest right in front of her, Jackie couldn't resist helping him with that humdinger! She grabbed it in her beak, twisting it until it was vertical and taller than her. Shadow, who was still breathing heavily from carrying it in, snapped some twigs off of his great find.

As they managed to place that stick, Shadow then noticed Jackie's new stick and he attempted to rearrange both to fit together, as if they were puzzle pieces. Things finally quieted down and they both took a rest and stood still.

The crunching sound of sticks underfoot had stopped, just long enough to hear the sound of coyotes howling off in the distance.

Shadow playfully attempted a quick nibble or two on Jackie's beautiful new feathers, then he carefully bumped past her to go sharpen his beak on the nest tree.

As nighttime closed in, Jackie left first for their favorite roosting spot and Shadow followed her over to the Roost Tree.

Stay tuned… things seem to be coming along quite well at the nest and progress is being made!

BKind22

[Tinkrbl44]

Whoa!   I just checked the Big Bear webcam, and off in the distance it looks like a fire!  

[shoekitty]

I just checked and it is a huge controlled fire in San Bernardino County

officials say smoke seen in the Big Bear Valley is from planned prescribed fire operations.

The prescribed burn is scheduled between Dec. 18 and 20, in the Big Bear Valley in the area of Highway 38 and Polique Canyon Road.

The burn is on the north side of Big Bear Lake, east of Fawnskin and about 15 miles south of Lucerne Valley. 

Residents may experience smoke during the prescribed burn and smoke may also be visible from the High Desert. 

Fire officials will evaluate weather conditions in the hours before the burn begins. If conditions warrant, prescribed fire activities may be canceled. Firefighters will monitor the prescribed burn during ignition and the following days until it is entirely out. 

[Tinkrbl44]

@shoekitty   @Tinkrbl44   @SoCal Bred   @spumoni99   @Jk9   @walker    @Pink123   @LIG1  @candys mine

2025-12-19

Juvenile Just Visiting

Last evening, Jackie arrived at the nest first. Shadow joined her and they had just begun working when both were on alert.

Suddenly, a juvenile bald eagle flew over them and landed comfortably in the attic at the top of the “Y” branch. This had been a favorite perch spot where both Sunny and Gizmo enjoyed spending time last season.

Jackie and Shadow began chortling in unison as the youngster bounced slightly on the branch above them. Jackie was louder as she always is, but Shadow voiced his concerns and even threw in a little classic “snortle”! It almost seemed like more of a lovely duet though, rather than warning calls as the young visitor calmly looked around.

Their chortles only lasted about thirty seconds… then silence. The juvenile didn't budge except to possibly wonder about what might happen next. During a long pause of silence, Jackie looked deep in thought when Shadow turned to look at her. For some reason they didn't seem to treat this young one as much of a threat.

Shadow didn't make any moves and no one made eye contact with the juvenile, who may have been thinking… “well, are you going to invite me down there or what?!”

Jackie finally peeked at the juvenile and with a tilt of her head she let out three short calls. Shadow looked at her like… umm, we already tried that!

Jackie made her next move by hopping up to the back porch. She took a quick peek to see if any of that worked. It didn't, so it was on to plan B. Jackie finally just scooted up the “Y” branch, past Shadow who was patiently watching all the action. She gently supplanted the juvenile from the branch and it let out a small whimper as she chased it off.

Jackie remained in the attic briefly, then hopped her way back into the nest next to Shadow. When they heard noises below, she peeked over the edge to find their visitor had returned to perch in the basement.

Meanwhile, Shadow, who was likely just thinking about sleep, climbed up to the back porch and flew off to go roost. Jackie walked gingerly through the noisy sticks and followed him out.

A few moments later, the juvie left the basement, flying off in a similar direction as Jackie and Shadow.

Stay tuned…

BKind22

[shoekitty]

@Tinkrbl44   Oh man, I'm uoset a bit. You know it has to be Sunny or Gizmo. I bet Gizmo, as Gizmo seemed to hang around more than sunny.  Crows would welcome the young one back.  But maybe as the eaglet comes back or gets more persistent they woukd accept them.  OTOH, if Jackie starts meeting, no way would they let the kids back, I think anyway. Poor little,eaglet. Sniff.  

[Tinkrbl44]

@shoekitty 

I know I'm repeating myself, but I still don't understand why carefully fed and kept warm little eaglets fledge at about 6 months ... and then what?

They have been dismissed by their loving parents ... and?

They are supposed to just leave the nest and try to figure out how to keep themselves fed?  Granted, we didn't see if Shadow gave them any fishing lessons.  Perhaps he did.    

If Sunny and Gizmo can't mate until they are almost 5 years old ... and these precious babes are homeless .... it seems like a serious lack of Eagle Education.   

I don't get it.  It's like sending kindergarteners off to college!   

[Tinkrbl44]

@shoekitty   @Tinkrbl44   @SoCal Bred   @spumoni99   @Jk9   @walker    @Pink123   @LIG1  @candys mine

2025-12-19

Secret Breakfast & Beautiful Views

Early Thursday morning, we spotted Shadow hiding behind a pine needle privacy screen likely having a secret breakfast. He scooted out from his personal dining room and was seen feaking his beak, cleaning up any evidence before he flew to the nest to meet Jackie. Not sure this worked, she could probably still smell his fish breath.

They both spent some time together near the back porch, looking stunning with the beautiful lake as the backdrop. Shadow suddenly got the urge to pull on Jackie’s feathers; Jackie seems to like the attention and doesn’t put up much of a fuss when he does it.

Of course, Shadow had a nice crop after his secret breakfast and Jackie was doing crop drops as well at 9:30:36. A crop drop is when they move small bits of food from their crop down to their stomach. All signs show they are eating well!

Opps, she did it again! Jackie brought in yet another wonky stick that gave her a bit of a fight… and it’s as if she is looking at the camera saying… I know, I know!

They did work hard, bringing in more sticks but also took time to perch, relax and enjoy their view before heading out for the night and were found in their favorite roost tree.

We consider September 1st the start of the new season, though Jackie & Shadow didn’t become active in stick deliveries until mid-November. This season they delivered a whopping 202 sticks to the nest so far!

Bald eagles are compulsive nest builders. They will continue to add sticks, building onto the nest as long as they continue using it. This is why Bald eagle nests are some of the largest nests in North America.

Thank you for coming along with us on Jackie & Shadow’s great adventures!

Stay tuned, more to come…

GW

[Pink123]

Some great news for the Miami eagle cam.  R9 was born early this morning and looks great.  Now pip watch for R10!  He/she pops up from underneath Mom every so often!

[Tinkrbl44]

@shoekitty   @Tinkrbl44   @SoCal Bred   @spumoni99   @Jk9   @walker    @Pink123   @LIG1  @candys mine

2025-12-21

Love Connections: feather nibbles and beaky kisses, 

Eagle activity began early Saturday morning with Shadow's first stick delivery. Jackie took over after that and brought in seven more sticks before Shadow returned. He safely crashed through the back porch with stick #8… his third for the day. They quickly went to work, diligently placing it together.

At times, Shadow seemed less concerned with nest work though, and more interested in teasing Jackie. He kept nibbling on her back feathers and encouraging beaky kisses.

Jackie didn't seem all that bothered by having to pause and spin around to answer Shadow's playfulness. He did look quite enamored though, as he peeked over Jackie's back before hopping over her to get to the back porch and fly off for a break.

After Shadow left, Jackie remained on a mission to finish her morning stick shopping. She brought in a nice variety of five more pieces, making ten sticks in total, all delivered in just under a two hour window. They ranged in size and shape, which included a long decorated pine branch and a huge back porch baby gate. Great work Jackie!

Jackie must have realized the back porch lighting was just perfect for snapshots, so she posed beautifully up on that high branch for some fan photos in between coming and going on her stick shopping runs.

Many guardrails have been delivered in the past few weeks to secure the outer edges. This is done to keep future chicks safe as they grow and move about. The left side of the nest also appears to be built up more which is clearly more evident and visible when the nest is empty.

Jackie took the afternoon off, but then returned at sunset for another quick 20-second up-and-down pancake moment. We call this pancaking, as she lays down flat to test the nest for comfort.

After she left for the evening, mating vocals were heard so perhaps things are beginning to heat up! Much longer and more frequent pancaking and mating sessions will soon take place as Jackie and Shadow's hormones heighten, and as January, their first egg-laying month, gets closer.

Thank you for following and supporting Jackie and Shadow!

BKind22