Community Chat

[shoekitty]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

@shoekitty 

Chilly nights, but warmer next week.  Check daily temps next week on the Weather Channel app.  High of 80 on Tuesday, so have "layers" of clothing packed. 

@Tinkrbl44  Thanks!!! It is always a ****** shoot going down to,SoCal, lol. I remember the one Thanksgiving it was cold before hand, we got there and they had that 98 degree Thanksgiving day lol.  But Guess the weather is better for Jackie and Shadow. I guess they need to find more fluff for the nest.  

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[Tinkrbl44]

@shoekitty 

Right now it's 36 degrees in Big Bear. 

I bet the soon-to-be parents are really working on nestoration plans, even when they aren't moving sticks around.  

[Tinkrbl44]

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

2025-12-04

Jackie in charge: stays calm and independent…

Sweet morning chortles rang out early yesterday as both Jackie and Shadow discussed their plans for the day. Shadow must have had some eagle business to attend to after their busy and nearly full day of nestorations together the day prior.

Perhaps they had a nice breakfish meal together down at the lake, then as Jackie began working on the nest, Shadow was likely out and about in the habitat taking care of other things for the day. The wind picked up and the morning air was brisk, a perfect combination for Jackie as she quickly brought in the first two sticks.

In about thirty minutes, Jackie managed to shop for five new sticks for the nest. Stick #4 was large and rather odd-shaped. It was the one that gave her a bit of a challenge.

After landing, she confidently grabbed it in her beak and brought it closer so we could check out her new find, while she also tried to maintain her balance.

As she tried to figure out where it should go, she paused to snap off a few pieces which made it a little easier to maneuver. At one point, its thicker and semicircular shape looked like it could be a new and improved baby gate for the front porch. She decided to leave it for later and perhaps wait for Shadow's expertise.

Jackie was off again for one final stick. After she landed, a couple of vocal ravens were circling the nest tree and seemed to be testing her. At one point, there was one in the basement and another circled before landing briefly on a front porch branch.

Jackie stayed perched, calm and still, watching intently as they flew around her. Her presence was enough to let them know who was boss. Eventually, they got the message and flew off together until they were out of sight.

As egg laying gets closer, more softer materials will be brought in and we should see Jackie spending more and more time at the nest. She will eventually lay down for long periods to test and shape the bowl for comfort.

Of course, we have a few more weeks until more happens, as Jackie is fertile between January-April.

In the meantime, stay close and thank you for watching!

BKind22

[Tinkrbl44]

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

2025-12-06

Bonding and nest work go hand-in-hand…

Sticks began coming in a little later in the afternoon on Thursday as both Jackie and Shadow spent the early part of the day perching and observing from some of their other favorite trees.

They did find time to round up two sticks each to add to the nest, but Jackie seemed to enjoy hopping up and down from the branches around the nest rather than doing any actual work in the nest!

Nestbuilding is a big part of their bonding process and they were definitely doing some bonding! Jackie actually seemed to spend more time flirting with Shadow than working. And Shadow, well at least he was trying to get some work done!

Jackie playfully teased him as she moved and hopped around on the branches of both porches. She even moved up on the “Y” branch that their young ones Sunny and Gizmo spent a lot of time on earlier this year.

Several times, just when it looked like she was going to leave, Jackie scooted back down into the nest to just be close to her king. They even managed to share a quick smooch… we often call them beaky kisses.

Nestorations also began kind of late again on Friday when Shadow brought in the first four sticks and then Jackie contributed one more before sunset. A noisy woodpecker was busy working on a branch as Shadow flew in with his second stick. It was a nice long, sturdy stick that he promptly placed as a possible guardrail on the right side of the nest.

Jackie only brought in one stick to Shadow's four, but he did seem a little more serious about working while Jackie's playfulness and hormones may have been more on her mind. Either way, the necessary work will get done sooner or later.

Shadow did respond a little more to Jackie last night while both were in the nest. He teased her with a quick feather nibble on her wing and then a little later, he initiated a beaky kiss!

They spent the night together in the Roost Tree with romance in the air and under a beautiful full moon up in the sky.

These two make such an amazing team and are so much fun to watch. It's just always such a joy to see them and we truly love their nest visits!

BKind22

[Tinkrbl44]

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

2025-12-08

Fluff n Stuff

Jackie and Shadow are keeping us busy, visiting the nest 11 consecutive days, usually adding sticks, reworking the nest or just enjoying the view from their high perch in the sky!

Saturday they both stopped by in the afternoon, stickless and that is ok since they have so many to work with already. They worked in unison to rearrange the furniture, enjoyed a little beaky kissy and headed out to roost in private.

Fiona, the flying squirrel, made several appearances bouncing through the nest, keeping us entertained at night while the eagles are away.

Sunday, Jackie and Shadow got an earlier start, apparently after breakfast as Jackie was sporting a mega crop, we are surprised she could even fly up to the nest it was so BIG! A crop is a temporary storage pantry allowing eagles to store large amounts of food for several days if needed. They drop small amounts of food from the crop to their walnut sized stomach for digestion throughout the day.

Shadow brought in another wonky stick to impress Jackie. They both work on these crazy sticks, snapping off pieces and parts until it is just the right shape for placement somewhere in the nest.

Taking a break together on the back porch gave us a good view into Shadow’s mouth while he was panting. Eagles do not have sweat glands; they pant to regulate their temperature. The flight up to the nest expends a lot of energy and the sun at this elevation can get warm even if the temperatures seem cool to us.

At times you can see two backward-facing barbs that grab onto their food, helping them to get those large pieces down the hatch. We also got a good look at his Glottis, the small hole at the bottom of the tongue, it is a part of the respiratory system.

The big news of the day, Shadow brought in the first batch of fluff!  He seemed quite happy with himself, Jackie noticed it and dug in right away when she came in.

Shadow up on the front porch balcony saw Jackie starting to rearrange the nest and figured he better get down there right away and help!

They both headed out for the night where we found them in their regular spots in the nearby roost tree. Nestorations seem to be in full swing!

GW

[Tinkrbl44]

Just FYI, I stole this from post #13 of the thread here in Community ... 2026 Postage stamps...   they are issuing BALD EAGLES Forever Stamps! 

[shoekitty]

@Tinkrbl44  I was interested in this CROP thing Bald Eagles have to store food. It was mentioned in the latest newsletter you posted. 

A Bald Eagle’s digestive system has an area called a crop that is unique to birds.  This is an area in the esophagus that can temporarily hold up to two pounds of food, enabling a Bald Eagle to go days without eating.  When the eagle has had a large meal, you can sometimes see the crop bulging out on the throat and chest area.  The bird moves the food from the crop into the stomach, which is about the size of a walnut in an eagle, through a maneuver of opening its beak and swallowing (which looks to us like a yawn

[Mz iMac]

@shoekitty  "hoochi coochie?"  

[Mz iMac]

Friday 12/12/25

Shadow eating the meat from his "fluff" capture.  Not sure what animal it came from.  Could have been a squirrel or some other rat like rodent as it had "fur."

Jackie swoops in 30 minutes later.  They both do a little beak kiss then Shadow continues eating.  Meat must have been very tough.  He did not share w/wify.

Wify took to the front porch while hubby did some minor stick moving around.  Hubby also did some beak cleaning & talon sharpening on the 2 pieces of thick wood & camera pole at the bottom of the photo.

"Fluff" was no where to be seen.  Nesting area as you can see is still full of sticks.

[Tinkrbl44]

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

2025-12-10

More Big Sticks &Sweet Beaky Kisses

On a very windy Monday morning, Jackie was the first to arrive at the nest, bringing a total of six sticks in the span of about an hour and a half.

Before she started her stick work though, she flew in to perch on the front porch since a couple of vocal ravens were hanging around the basement. They had also landed on the canopy over the nest but when they saw her coming, it was goodbye to the ravens!

She was then off to retrieve her first stick of the day. She dropped it off quickly and headed out again for another. She flew in through the back porch several times with some pretty interesting sticks! She managed to place a few after several attempts and the others she seemed to leave for Shadow to handle later.

The last branch Jackie delivered before lunchtime was stick #6. Maneuvering that new piece of furniture around to place it, seemed to be her greatest challenge for the day.

After grabbing it in her beak and walking forward, it got hooked onto the “V” branch on the right side of the front porch. She tried to move forward with it a few times, then figured out when that wouldn't work, to turn and go the other way and it finally came loose. Success!

Jackie strutted around the nest from the back porch to the front, and then around one more time again, on what seemed like a very purposeful mission to choose the perfect place for that big, thin, pokey-looking stick.

After all that work, Jackie was ready for a break but she returned later in the afternoon to help Shadow with more nestorations. Jackie contributed one more stick and Shadow brought in three before they called it a day.

As they worked together, poking and digging in the new fluff and moving several sticks, Shadow got a smudge of dirt on his beak. But that didn't seem to stop Jackie from sneaking in a couple of beaky kisses before they left to roost.

They were cuddled up last night, side-by-side on the same branch, high atop their favorite roost tree. They sang several sweet duets that rang out loud and clear throughout the neighborhood before settling down for a peaceful night together.

Sweet eagle dreams to all!

BKind22