Big Bear Bald Eagles Expecting Again: Two Eggs Laid, More To Follow, Experts Say

BIG BEAR, CA — The beloved Big Bear Bald Eagles, Jackie and Shadow, are nesting again. The pair of eagles, who return to their nest year after year, have laid two egg as of Monday night, the Friends of Big Bear Valley reported.

On Friday morning, Jackie — the female of the pair — began showing signs of labor, according to a spokesperson for the nonprofit that monitors the eagles. In recent weeks, the pair has been caught on the eagle webcams, mating, dragging branches around the nest, and filling the nest bowl with soft material to get it ready for their hatchlings. They've taken turns "pancaking" or flattening the bowl with their chests, making it the perfect size and shape for the days, weeks and months to come, should all go well.

As of Monday midday, over 20,000 viewers watched to see if and when Jackie would lay another egg. The pair draws millions of viewers a year in a rare look at real-time nature in action. The egg (or eggs) will incubate for about 35 days, before pip watch begins. (Pip is the first sign of hatching from the egg.)

The mated eagles have seen their share of success and loss in the past few years. In 2025, two of their three babies hatched, and both successfully fledged. Observing the eaglets, named Sunny and Gizmo by area schoolchildren, as they eat, learn to hover, then fly, and ultimately fledge from the nest, is a regular pastime for people across the globe. A third eaglet hatched, but died amid a blizzard in the mountains where they call home. In 2024, none of the pair's eggs hatched.

For now, she and her mate, Shadow, are taking turns caring for and incubating their egg, tidying the nest bowl, and keeping would-be predators at bay.

On Sunday, Jackie and Shadow fended off a hawk and a raven from coming too close to their egg, according to a spokesperson for the nonprofit.

"A hawk came swooping down at Jackie, in a possible attempt to knock her off the branch," they wrote. "She fended it off using her wings and vocals and the hawk flew away as Shadow raced over from the nest tree."

According to the group, Shadow does equal time feathering the nest and caring for the egg. "He also had a close eye on his surroundings, intently tracking movement around the nest as he kept the egg safe," they said.

Love is still in the air, as the pair have mated a few more times since the first egg was laid.

The group has an ongoing live feed watch on Youtube, with webcams aimed at the nest bowl in hopes of a glimpse of nesting. With three days separating egg laying in the past, perhaps Monday is the day another egg will appear.

As the pair of eagles start their incubation period, Friends of Big Bear Valley continues to argue against a development planned for the Fawnskin area named "Moon Camp," a project that would create an increase in fire risk as well as threaten the Bald Eagle population. That site, for a 50-home gated development and marina, at the north shore of Big Bear Lake,is less than a mile from the nest.

Friends of Big Bear Valley is a non-profit that began in 2001 and is run by a team of volunteers around the clock. The Big Bear Bald Eagles are protected by the Bald Eagle & Golden Eagle Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Lacey Act & by the California Endangered Species Act.

Watch the pair live in the video below.