Tens of thousands of people around the world have watched Big Bear’s famous eagle Jackie pair up with mates, huddle through torrential snow storms and joyfully celebrate when her eaglets took flight.
Twelve-year-old bald eagle Jackie and her 10-year-old mate Shadow have again captivated audiences, as thousands watch a live webcam to see if the raptor’s three eggs laid in January will hatch.
The bald eagles live in the San Bernardino Mountains overlooking Big Bear Lake.
“I’m shocked, but at the same time I’ve been totally captivated since the beginning,” said Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, a preservation group that operates the solar-powered webcams and meticulously documents the raptors’ lives.
One solar-powered camera is perched next to the nest about 140 feet high, near the very top of a Jeffrey pine tree, giving us a nest sideseat to the duo’s home. The other is pointed up at the tree from a lower angle. Both are streaming live, every minute of the day as dedicated watchers from around the world leave notes for one another, detailing their observations.
“There’s something about watching their day to day life that is totally addictive and intriguing,” Steers said.
Bald eagles call Big Bear home
Jackie’s parents, Ricky and Lucy, became the first known adult eagles to stay in Big Bear Valley, which until then had only been a winter destination for the species.
Jackie became the first eaglet hatched in Big Bear Valley in 2012, according to Steers who lives near the nest where Jackie was born and watched her…
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