If you’re one of the tens of thousands of viewers who have been tuning into Big Bear’s bald eagle nest live cam, then you’ll know that eaglets Sunny and Gizmo are growing rapidly. After witnessing them hatch back in March, those little gray fluffballs are now nearly full-sized birds, lately seen flapping their impressive wings as they prepare to fledge this May. But some unmistakable bald eagle characteristics are still conspicuously missing: the snowy white feathers on their heads, long white tail feathers, and bright yellow beak.
According to the Loudon Wildlife Conservancy, bald eagles do not develop their “bald” heads until they are 4-5 years old. The birds don’t go through their first molt until after the first year of age, at which point some coloring changes will begin to appear.
The head, tail, beak, and legs will begin to lighten through the first 2-3 years of age, and by 4.5 years old, they will look like fully-grown adults. That said, some eagles still retain some dark plumage on the head throughout their life. During the “sub-adult” stage, around 3.5 years old, eagles may begin to look for a mate and begin building a nest.
Sunny and Gizmo will both be “fully feathered” by the time they start flying at 10-12 weeks old, but we will not see their coloring change much at this point. As they learn to fly and hunt, parents Jackie and Shadow will continue to feed and care for them into the summer.
However, when the eaglets reach 17-23 weeks old in July and August, we’ll need to prepare to say goodbye, as they will soon leave the nest. Juvenile bald eagles in California are known to make a rapid migration hundreds of miles up to northern and western Canada according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
But fret not, as bald eagles usually return to their nesting grounds after a few months, and some breeding bald eagle couples stay in California year-round. One such couple is none other than Jackie and Shadow—in fact, matriarch Jackie was incidentally hatched in Big Bear in 2012, and has stayed at the live cam nest since 2017.
In the meantime, stay tuned to the live cam for a chance to see Sunny and Gizmo fledge within the next few weeks.