The now-famous Big Bear Valley eagle family finally experienced a good, healthy week. Jackie and Shadow’s two surviving eaglets are growing bigger and stronger with every new feeding. While one of the chicks is getting a tad pudgier than the other, both appear to be healthy and happy in their cozy nest high above the valley.
Growth Milestones for Eaglets
Kids – they grow up so fast! Eagle parents feed their chicks small bits of fish, squirrels, rats, reptiles, carrion, and even waterfowl. The baby eagles pack on about half a pound to a full pound every week during their first 10 weeks of life. And by week three, they’re already standing around one foot tall.
Help Name the Eaglets
Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets need names, and you can help choose them! The official Chick-Naming Contest is now open. The chick-naming contest aims to raise funds for the nonprofit organization, Friends of Big Bear Valley. It will take place online and is open to everyone worldwide. Get more information here on how to enter the eaglet naming contest.
Making New Friends
The as-yet-unnamed eaglets are reaching new milestones – they’re socializing! Jackie, Shadow, and the eagle babies have made new friends. Fiona, a flying squirrel has become the latest obsession for animal livestream enthusiasts. And she’s not alone! Fiona is joined by her brother, Freddie and possibly several other siblings. Just one more reason to tune into the Big Bear eagle livestream!
Worldwide Eagle Love
Devoted eagle followers on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram have flooded the comment sections with love, support, care, and concern for the now world-famous eagle family. While Californians are proud of our eagle friends, the eaglets have now acquired fans from far-flung locales. Several commenters have even stated that they now monitor Big Bear’s weather daily in order to know what to expect for Jackie, Shadow, and the two surviving eaglets.
Difficult Family Updates Last Week
There was a bittersweet update on the Internet’s newest viral animal obsession last week. Sadly, the bald eagle family in Southern California’s Big Bear Valley has lost one of its members.
After a heavy winter storm brought two feet of snow to Big Bear Valley last week, there was speculation that one of the new eaglets was missing early Friday morning after the frigid snowy night. And sadly, that news was confirmed over the weekend by Friends of Big Bear Valley when they officially reported that one of the three eaglets did not survive.
The organization’s executive director Sandy Steers provided updates last week via Facebook regarding the family’s status. “We have no way to know what happened or why the chick passed,” wrote Steers in the post. “We also do not know which chick it was because they were all very close in size.”
“Jackie and Shadow also did what they needed to do with the chick who had passed away, so that they could move on from the sadness,” Steers added in another update. “In the early morning, Shadow moved it from the nest bowl to the side of the nest. And later, Jackie flew it off the nest. They both treated that chick with care in their process of releasing and letting go.”
In another Facebook update, they stated, “We understand that this news is very hard to hear. Even when nature is difficult to watch, and sometimes even harder to understand, we must trust that it has its reasons. Please allow yourself to feel the sadness; please allow yourself to feel whatever you feel.”
Bald Eagle Babies in Big Bear
Over the past couple of weeks, this regal family of bald eagles in Big Bear Valley has captivated tens of thousands of people worldwide. Bald eagle parents, Jackie and Shadow, welcomed three baby chicks between March 3 – 6, 2025. And ever since, online birdwatchers have been glued to the 24/7 live stream out of Big Bear eagerly following their journey.
The bald eagle nest is located approximately 145 feet up in a Jeffrey Pine tree in Big Bear Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California And it’s the current home for Jackie and Shadow, a now-famous local bald eagle pair, and their two surviving chicks.
Featured image: Screenshot from “Big Bear Bald Eagle Live Nest – Cam 1” on March 27, 2025.