Live Eagle Cam — Big Bear, California

FlakeNoir

Wonderful..❤️🤞🙏

spideyman

F23 was standing on the nest over egg #1 and she began to go into labor. She only had a few contractions with her wings slightly out from her sides and laid her second egg. A few seconds later she did a tail flip and a PS and then went to incubate her eggs! That was very fast for F23 as compared to her first egg! Official time of delivery is 13:44:13 (1:44pm) F23 than laid down and incubated both eggs. When she got up we got our first look at these beauties at 14:28:52 (2:28pm) and she heads to the veranda and then flies off. She returns in a couple of minutes and lands on the veranda and is vocal. She then looks down at the nest and she approaches her eggs and touches them gently with her beak and lays down to incubate them ♥ What an exciting day! Congratulations to M15 & F23 on their second egg! M15 has not been back yet to see the second egg! Thank you for watching!

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

1h  · 

Stickful…

As we neared the end of the recent holiday weekend, Jackie brought in a big stick that toppled her into an ‘almost crash’ but ‘nice recovery’ landing. After that, she apparently decided that just checking out the status of the neighborhood would be best and she spent an hour watching around from the nest and front porch.

Shadow showed up first in the afternoon with his requisite stick delivery and that started a work party of stick deliveries…3 in a row from Jackie, then 2 more from Shadow to catch up to his beautiful mate. With that many sticks coming in, of course there had to be some team cooperation with joint stick placements and, naturally, those moments led to beaky kisses being involved. Shadow even tried to rearrange the central pine cone. Everything looked smooth from the outside, but even though they both slept on the main roost tree…they slept on separate limbs.

The next couple days must have been days off to recover from so much activity in the valley over Thanksgiving. Jackie and Shadow’s visits to the nest were all brief and stickless. They did hang out together for a while on the Lookout Snag, apparently to keep an eye on the neighborhood even if they weren’t working on the nest.

Yesterday Jackie was back in the morning for a short visit and they both did an afternoon check-in. Shadow brought the stick of the day. And Jackie had to deal with getting a bit of the nest stuck on her beak. But they seem to have reestablished the ‘all is going fine’ with our couple mode—they were back to snuggling together on the roost tree last night.


FL  11/29


F23 was on the nest incubating her eggs when she suddenly started to alert and mantle covering her eggs. A sub adult flies in to the attic arch and then to the attic as F23 is screaming protecting her eggs. The sub adult flies to the inner limb, back to the attic, back to the inner limb and remained there while F23 continued to vocalize her displeasure. Views are from the 360 as the cam was on F23 in the nest and not panning. The sub adult looks to be about two years old, still has a dark beak but you can see some slight yellowing beginning on the corners, eye color is starting to lighten up, mostly dark feathers with some lighter feathers on head and throughout chest. There is no way to know if this is just a visitor flying through the area or if it is one of Harriet and M15's offspring. Florida has the 2nd highest eagle populations in the country so statistically it is unlikely to be one of the E's. ♥ We have some beautiful closeups of the visitor while F23 calmed down and only emitted a few vocals. The SA flies off towards the pond area but a few minutes later, F23 begins to alert on the nest and mantles to protect her eggs as the sub adult returns and lands on the veranda tip. The SA looks around at the area and down at the nest and F23 several times & was pretty comfortable up there. Great closeups again of the SA and also of its feet and talons (which are clean and non injured). The SA flies to the attic arch and remains there for awhile. More closeups of the visitor before it flew off towards the pond area again and disappeared. F23 watched and settled down on the nest awaiting M15's return so she could give him an ear full about her morning adventures! Thank you for watching!


Please let's not speculate that the 2 year old sub-adult who visited the nest tree is one of the offspring of Harriet and M15. Florida has the second highest population of bald eagles in the nation and with all of the eagles, old and young, who are flying around the state it is very unlikely that this one is from this nest. Most likely it was hoping for a stolen meal or just passing through and needed a place to rest for a short time. Everybody on every SWFL FB page is speculating about this--even saying it is E9 who of course would be an adult with a glorious white head. We just can't assume that every time a juvenile eagle visits that it is one who was hatched here. I never say never but most likely it isn't.

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

4h  · 

Big sticks & little friends…

Well eagle family, for the last few days of November, it's been fairly quiet around

the nesting area. Early Wednesday morning, Jackie did bring in two pretty big branches, lugged them to the front porch & precisely placed them as guard rails. She must have decided that area needed to be a little more secure! She stopped working & looked around as if she was waiting for Shadow to come in to help & when he didn't show, she moved a few smaller sticks around then took the rest of the day off from working at the nest.

Just before Jackie had arrived, a little Mountain Chickadee fluttered in & admired the colorful pine cone nest decor. It may have seen her coming so it flew off as quickly as it arrived without disturbing anything.

Jackie & Shadow were both seen later that afternoon vocalizing together as they flew, one following the other, to the top of the Stick Depot Snag tree. They stayed in the snag for a good while & although some ravens were heard squawking nearby, they steered clear of the snag. We missed seeing Jackie & Shadow that evening as they flew off to roost without a nest visit.

Fiona, our little local San Bernardino flying squirrel, made a quick appearance overnight & she scampered around looking for something to nibble on. She didn't find much & decided to leave to explore elsewhere.

After another beautiful Big Bear sunrise the next morning, a lone raven visited the eagle's stick pile for a quick walkthrough & to peek around before heading under the nest to the basement. It perched there for a bit & vocalized loud enough to possibly wake up a sleeping Fiona. Since she's nocturnal & may live under the nest somewhere within ear shot, she likely wasn't happy with that raven's early alarm clock!

We had another little feathered friend pop in a few days ago. A red-breasted sapsucker came around & enjoyed the beautiful lake view on its visit.

The last two days have been super quiet except there have been many overnight & early morning eagle chortles heard. So no worries… Jackie & Shadow are nearby but it appears they are taking their time & maybe aren't quite ready for regular daily nest visits just yet.

With the arrival of December though & cooler temperatures on the way, hopefully we will see our lovebirds more often at the nest preparing for possible eggs come January.

The nest is still looking pretty “sticky” but they know when to start bringing more softer ‘fluff & stuff’ to add to the bowl. They are on nature's time schedule & we trust they know exactly what they're doing. So in the meantime, we shall remain patient & let nature do what it does.

Thank you all for your support, for spending time with us at the nest & especially for loving Jackie & Shadow as you do!

BKind22

Hedda Gabler

Spidey, how do they know which egg was laid first?  In all the stick moving and fluffing, those eggs get, dare I say, scrambled up. 

spideyman

The staff who monitor the cams are able to distinguish minor coloration/marking on each egg. They have a greater "zoom" ability.  Lots of experience over all the seasons too.

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

1d  · 

Getting ready…

Over the last few days, Jackie and Shadow came to the nest only for a few short visits…but of course each visit included bringing sticks, rearranging furniture and a few little beaky-kisses and wing nibbles (Shadow’s favorite mischievous activity!)

Our sleek, feathery couple have been keeping the stick deliveries fair and equal—Shadow delivered the daily stick one day, Jackie delivered it the next day. As usual, however, it often takes both of them working together to find just the right location for that stick and for any other long, skinny furniture that one of them decides is not in quite the right place…and almost like clockwork, that close-quarters cooperation makes beaky-kisses too hard to resist. If Jackie is ever focused elsewhere, Shadow knows that a little nibble on her wing will get her attention right back to him instantly.

After coming together in the evening on their alternate roost tree, they spent the night snuggled on the same short limb…and were still there together in the morning.

We did accomplish all of our goals for our camera and system maintenance this fall. (All the work inside the habitat was done in early September.) We worked on the nest camera, replacing the microphone to make sure those beautiful sounds of nature are always present and we relocated it a bit to block wind noise and better hear nest activities. We also reaffirmed that everything is held tightly in its best location plus replaced and waterproofed a few of the cable connectors. Big Thank you’s to Dr. Peter Sharpe (now with his own consulting company--Sharpe Wildlife Consulting, LLC) for his camera, systems and eagle expertise in managing the maintenance operations, and to biological climbing expert Nate Melling for a beautiful job of ascending to the nest 145 feet up and attending to all the details of replacing, connecting, relocating, anchoring and waterproofing.

We also did some major work on cam2 (the wide-angle camera), which entailed more climbing, rewiring, waterproofing and system component replacement to make the sound on this camera as clear and beautiful as the nest camera. Besides Pete and Nate, thank you also to Carl Picciolo (Mountain Smart Home Solutions), Mike and Cindy Bode and Cali Condor for the device, electrical and research support to make this happen.

Since we have had unaware visitors heard or seen on camera, we posted signs around the area—thanks to Mike and Cali--to inform hikers that this area is sensitive and protected. And finally, when the camera livestreams were getting a bit wonky, Carl and Cali worked on replacing and resetting components of our streaming system.

Our maintenance is actually a big and ongoing operation, not only with the cameras themselves, but with all of our ground operation systems and our live streaming systems, all located away from the main cameras and outside of the nesting habitat. Big thank you’s to everyone involved in all of this year's maintenance!

As of this week, all eagle foraging areas around the lake are closed, including the whole nesting area and trails near it. It is closed not only to vehicles and bicycles, but also to foot traffic. Big thank you to the U.S. Forest Service - San Bernardino National Forest for protecting the eagles by closing and posting the area!

The nest is getting ready…the camera and equipment are ready…the nesting area is closed in preparation…now it’s up to Mother Nature and Jackie and Shadow to decide what and when happens with all this readiness!

Sandy

spideyman

Dec 10

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

5h  · 

~Taking care of business, pancaking & patience…

In the late afternoon a few days ago, the ravens were very vocal just before Jackie landed on the high perch. Shadow was seen flying by so he was likely taking care of business & shooing those ravens off. While moving to the nest, Jackie hopped in from the high branch & tripped a bit on a stick knocking the pine cone out of the center. The pine cones don't have any real significance except they add a little extra color & decor to the nest.

Jackie continued to hold down the fort in protective mode. When she heard Shadow call out, she responded back that all was well. The sun was already setting but she managed to get a little housework & gardening done. A crop drop gave her a little early evening snack then she took off to the cactus snag tree.

Shadow came home to their palace of sticks after his work day ended in the habitat & seemed to notice immediately the pine cone was out of place. He soon forgot about it though when he looked up & saw his lovely queen on her way in. Jackie is a beautiful distraction! They worked a bit together on the nest bowl, movin’ & shakin’ until they decided to call it a night & head to roost tree2 to cuddle up side by side.

Early Friday morning, our lovebirds serenaded the neighborhood with a duet of lovely chortles which is always beautiful music to our ears! The rest of the day was spent perching in their favorite snag trees observing their habitat & there were no nest visits.

It was a quiet day on Saturday until mid-morning then Jackie arrived at the nest just before noon. She went to work right away adjusting some outer guardrails & aerating the nest bowl. She decided it was time to test out the bowl again & laid down flat, pancaking over the bowl. She pancaked for just over fifteen minutes, looking stunning as ever in her beautiful feathered coat. The egg cup will be down in the very center of the bowl & they will continue to prepare that area in the next few weeks for the eggs.

Jackie was on constant alert as a couple of squawking ravens circled the nest tree & were even bold enough to hover close to the nest & land in the canopy above her. She kept her cool & remained calm, keeping her eyes focused on them & their shenanigans. Her head darted back & forth as if watching a tennis match, then up & down & all around.

She spent about 1.5 hours there & when her nest duty was finished, she headed out to the cactus snag for a break. A little while later, two ravens noticed there was no eagle on duty & decided it might be a good time to take a closer peek at the nest. They just popped in quickly, poked around & didn't stay long.

Both Jackie & Shadow returned early in the evening but only for a few minutes. It was just enough time to move a few sticks, bump around, snuggle & play beak kissy face! Jackie got in a little love nibble on Shadow's head as a show of affection. Jackie still has that little black spot on one of her tail feathers so it can also be used as a way to tell the two apart for now.

Looks like the weather will remain cool & dry for a couple of weeks with no snow expected yet. In the past, Jackie tends to lay eggs sometime between January-March (we are hoping for January!) Fluff & softer materials will be brought in closer to egg laying & more afterward. Two sticks have been brought into the nest so far in December but there's always plenty of time to do more building. Nest building is done year round, however much less in the summertime when the eagles are on vacation.

“Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do!” ~Michel de Montaigne

Thank you all for your continued love & support of Jackie & Shadow. We couldn't do what we do without all of you!

BKind22

spideyman

FL eagles M15 and F23 continue to alternate rolls incubating the eggs.  Owl strikes continue late night/ before sunrise. Thankfully, no harm has come to the eagles.  The owls incubate and are nesting on the old nest beyond the pasture.  Egg hatching clock is counting down on the main site.

Sad news from  Kincaid Lake  ( Kisatchia National Forest,Louisiana). There are 3 nests in that area.  On Dec 8, Andria, the female, had a seizure and fell from the nest. She had been incubating 2 eggs with her mate Alex.  The seizure and eventual fall were caught on live cam, and rescue made the next morning. She did not survive. To date- Alex continues to  incubate, in addition to fighting off an intruder eagle.  His calls to his lost mate are heartbreaking and bring back memories of M15 calling for Harriett.  It appears unlikely the eggs will survive.  There is too much heartbreak in Eagle-nation. 

Please, if you are a hunter, hunt respectfully- lead poisoning kills.  If you are a fisherman, secure your line and sinker. If you are a landowner, use non toxic chemicals. If you see road kill and can safely move it off the road, do so. 

FlakeNoir

spideyman said:

FL eagles M15 and F23 continue to alternate rolls incubating the eggs.  Owl strikes continue late night/ before sunrise. Thankfully, no harm has come to the eagles.  The owls incubate and are nesting on the old nest beyond the pasture.  Egg hatching clock is counting down on the main site.

Sad news from  Kincaid Lake  ( Kisatchia National Forest,Louisiana). There are 3 nests in that area.  On Dec 8, Andria, the female, had a seizure and fell from the nest. She had been incubating 2 eggs with her mate Alex.  The seizure and eventual fall were caught on live cam, and rescue made the next morning. She did not survive. To date- Alex continues to  incubate, in addition to fighting off an intruder eagle.  His calls to his lost mate are heartbreaking and bring back memories of M15 calling for Harriett.  It appears unlikely the eggs will survive.  There is too much heartbreak in Eagle-nation. 

Please, if you are a hunter, hunt respectfully- lead poisoning kills.  If you are a fisherman, secure your line and sinker. If you are a landowner, use non toxic chemicals. If you see road kill and can safely move it off the road, do so. 

Oh no....🥹🥺😔 R.I.P Andria. I hope their eggs hatch. Poor Alex. 🥺

Hedda Gabler

Spidey, saw a pair of Egret legs earlier??? And something on the head of M or F. This wasn’t an injury was it? 

spideyman

Hedda Gabler said:

Spidey, saw a pair of Egret legs earlier??? And something on the head of M or F. This wasn’t an injury was it? 

No injury to M15.  He tends to "get into" his food.
From Lady Hawk --- December14, 2023

F23 was incubating the eggs when M15 arrives with a partial bird food gift for her. The bird is missing its torso and head - makes me wonder if M15 stole this bird? From the pinkish coloring on the legs and white feathers on the underbelly it might be an immature ibis. Ibis are very common at the pasture in addition to cattle egret. Cattle egret depending on age either have distinct yellow legs (breeding adult) partial dark legs (non breeding adult) or or bright red legs (breeding) or (juvenile) full dark legs. Too bad it was missing its head for a positive ID.
Learn more about Ibis here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/W...

And cattle egret: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/W...

F23 gets up and goes to the veranda and then attic ignoring the food gift. M15 incubates the eggs and we see the bird legs sticking out from underneath his feathers (M15's skinny legs!!  Two & half hours later F23 returns to the nest to claim her food gift. She pulls one leg in her beak and flies off the nest and across the street to eat her meal.

HEAD
 https://youtu.be/NA5PdB5hpBE?si=fOvCk34JzDs45Yer

"SWFEC 12-13-23. M15 brings a branch and dirty/stained head feathers to the nest."

Video opens with F23 incubating. M15 arrives with a branch, and right away it can be seen there is something on his head feathers. M15 tromps all over F23 to get his branch placed. F23 leaves the nest, and M15 takes over incubation. CamOps provides a very long look at M15. The opinion of the SWFEC is the dirty/stained feathers on M15 head are from eating. Eating prey, mammals in particular, can be messy at times. I cannot see an injury on M15, so this may be the result of a messy meal, or something else he got into. Hopefully he gets a bath soon to rinse off whatever it is. For now, those who have a tough time tell M15 and F23 apart have a temporary ID marker.

Later, CamOps finds F23 in the office oak. She flies to the nest tree, but M15 isn't interested in an incubation switch just yet. F23 leaves the nest tree, and M15 starts the overnight shift once again. F23 did return a little later to take over incubation (not in the video).

Hedda Gabler

Thank you

spideyman

Sub Tropical Storm FL eagles
From Lady Hawk --- December 16, 2023

A storm system came through the nest area bringing rain and wind all day and night. M15 & F23 worked as an amazing team keeping the eggs warm & dry, barely getting up at all in order to protect them from the elements. F23 gets up at first light and takes her first break and M15 instantly drops to the nest for the first shift change. We have some great closeups of M15 showing the raindrops on his feathers.

Their feathers are great insulators trapping body heat and keeping them warm and dry. The contour and flight feathers keep water out mainly because of their design. The tight overlapping layers and the tiny barbs that act like Velcro keep the feather in place and provide a tight bond to keep the water from penetrating. The oil from the uropygial gland helps to condition the feathers & keep them supple and in good condition. Bald eagles have an oil gland at the base of their tail called the uropygial gland. The eagle will extract oil by squeezing the gland and working it into the feathers. While this oil doesn’t actually waterproof the feathers, it does condition the feathers and makes them subtle so the tiny barbs will form the tight bond of the feather which helps keep the water out! 

M15 & F23 both would time their shift changes perfectly so the eggs were never left out in the rain. M15 took the morning shift and F23 was on the eggs for a good part of the afternoon. When M15 came to take over, he was not about to get up as darkness began to fall. We witnessed their strong devotion and teamwork again when F23 stood over M15 & covered him with her wing to shelter him from the rain while he was incubating the eggs. ♥ (timestamp for this is 20:11 as noted below) M15 remained on the nest at night for almost four hours and when he took a break and F23 went to incubate the eggs he remained by her side offering shelter and comfort never leaving her alone.

Watching how M15 & F23 interact as a couple tonight is special because it showed the extent they both will go to in protecting their eaglets and raising them together. What a beautiful sight to behold! Nature is amazing and I think our Harriet would approve of their actions together & has given her blessing. ♥ Thank you for watching!

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

3d  · 

Fluff and stuff: by popular demand

As many of us correctly noticed, Jackie and Shadow have not brought any soft nesting materials to line the nest bowl (or the center of the nest) as of yet. They tend to bring fluff closer to the egg-laying time, and even more comes after the eggs are laid.

Is it a concern that we see no fluff in the bowl? Let’s walk down the memory lane and take a look at the recorded nest history.

In two years when Jackie and Shadow have successfully fledged chicks, little to no fluff has been brought to the nest prior to egg laying. We had only a few fluff deliveries prior to egg-laying in 2019 (when Simba and Cookie were hatched), and 11 in 2022 (when Spirit was hatched). Comparatively, in years when their eggs did not hatch at all we had noticeably more fluff delivered prior to egg laying: 2020 - 15 deliveries, 2021 - 10 deliveries, 2023 - 13 deliveries.

Bald Eagles build their nests all around the country - from Florida to Alaska. Nests can be built in deciduous and coniferous trees, on rock formations, in huge saguaro cacti and even on the ground. Each ecosystem offers different opportunities for nesting sites and building materials. Eagles have their own ideas on what a perfect nest looks like and they go about implementing those ideas in their own ways using materials available to them. Naturally, a nest built by an eagle will not look the same as if it were built by a human (although eagles do “adopt” nests built for them by humans occasionally).

Eagles are pretty good at keeping their eggs warm in sub-freezing temperatures. Both sexes develop brood patches - sensitive featherless areas low on the abdomen full of blood vessels that facilitate heat transfer. Eagles all over the country face challenges of having to lay eggs in rain and snow. Eagles nesting in the Midwest even routinely incubate their eggs during significant cold spells, when nighttime temperatures drop to the negative teens and twenties.

The pictures below show the state of fluff affairs in 2019 and 2022, when Jackie and Shadow’s nesting attempts were successful. The 2019 situation looks particularly impossible from a human perspective: egg laid in a bowl full of sticks and snow. As we now know, both eggs hatched successfully.

Let’s keep that picture in mind as we watch Jackie and Shadow's ritz of sticks. At the end of the day, they are the expert nest builders, we are just observers.

If you would like to see more frequent posts about Jackie and Shadow, please join our official Facebook group where our community members share screen captures daily: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fobbv

Wishing you a Happy Winter Solstice and Holidays!

Cali

spideyman

F23 and eggs 


Pond Cam up and running




The footage opens up with F23 first flying it to the nest with a huge pile of grasses. She drapes them over cam 2 and spreads a small amount across M15's back. He gets up and takes a break and F23 goes to the eggs and takes over incubation duties. Three hours later M15 is back on the eggs when an intruder flies in and lands on the treetop branches. M15 alerts warning calls and stays on the eggs keeping a watch above him on the intruder. The intruder stayed up on the treetop for about an hour and twenty minutes until F23 came flying in hot and she flushes the intruder out and gives chase! M15 alerts as he watches the action. F23 will return to the treetop vocal and then M15 gets up and heads to the attic and outer branch. F23 drops to the nest and takes over incubation duties. Coverage is from cam 1, 360 and the pond cam (which showed us all the action!) Thank you for watching!

spideyman

HATCH IN PROGRESS! After hiding the eggs for most of the day, F23 readjusted at 20:54:20 and looks to be a large pip/crack in one of the eggs! More updates to come.

spideyman

Both Eggs are in the Hatching process. Egg 2 movement seen at 9:11am. Pip progression seen on the Egg 1 at 9:31am. More updates to follow. 23 minutes ago

spideyman

F23
3:09pm F23 up, aerated bole, not a good look at eggs, repositioned and settled back down. 3:22pm F23 back up, nudges eggs, slight look at eggs, repositioned herself, aerated bole, settled back down.

Hedda Gabler

Oooooo got a good look at egg, it is totally cracking up. I can’t remember how long it takes them to get out. 

Mom/dad is restless — lots of movement

spideyman

24-48 hrs to complete hatch

12/31
ON THE NEST
M15
We have a Hatch! At approximately 7:03am F23 rose up and E23 was visible. Waiting on official Hatch time. We are evaluating the condition of Egg 2.

spideyman

9:07a F23 up and aerates.9:45a F23 up and we get good views of E23.9:50a F back down. 9:47a We see E23’s beak and eye and trying to hold their head up. an hour ago

views

Dec 31, 2023 NORTH FORT MYERS

From the SWFEC Banner: 12-31-23 0900 (waiting for another update). We have a Hatch! At approximately 7:03am F23 rose up and E23 was visible. Waiting on official Hatch time. We are evaluating the condition of Egg 2. Video opens with M15 incubating, and F23 is on the nest. View of egg #1 hatch progress, and no movement observed with egg #2. F23 takes care, and M15 moves to the attic. In the next view, at 03:51 DVR time, E23 has hatched. There is no movement from egg #2. M15 arrives with nest material, and sees E23 for the first time. F23 leaves the nest, and M15 broods. We are waiting for the official hatch time for E23, and the evaluation of the condition of egg #2 💔

spideyman

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

3h  · 

Snow flurries & the big wonky stick saga continues…

Saturday began with some rain, snow flurries & wind most of the morning along with cloudy skies & a little fog. We were all super delighted in the late afternoon by a much needed nest visit from our very favorite eagle pair!

Shadow arrived at the nest first with a thick, wonky & spikey stick delivery. After looking around a bit & showing off his handsome profile to all his fans, surprisingly he made no attempt to place the stick. Instead, he headed to the front porch & appeared to be looking around to wait for Jackie.

He didn't have to wait long as she arrived within just a few minutes & when she flew in, he hopped back into the nest to join her. She moved the new stick to the side & began trimming it up by snapping off some small twigs. They bumped around in their close quarters & Shadow moved to the spot where Jackie was. He readjusted the stick & moved a few others before stopping to look around.

They both had their eyes on something outside the nest & suddenly Shadow pushed past Jackie with a bit of urgency & went out to the high perch to make his presence known. Not sure what he saw but as the wind picked up the golden sunlight was setting in the night sky behind them. What a lovely view!

Jackie made her way out to join Shadow on the perch & they sat side by side looking stunning as ever. Jackie flew off first as Shadow watched, then he followed right after her. Jackie decided to go snap off another branch off a favorite snag tree & she headed back to the nest while Shadow hung out on the SDS tree (Stick Depot Snag).

Jackie spent another ten minutes at the nest going around & around & around again, to try to find a spot for her latest crazy shaped stick. Talk about wonky! It was odd-shaped & gnarly with smaller branches shooting off here & there. It just didn't seem to fit anywhere! She didn't give up though as she hauled it around in her beak, trying to place it numerous times around the nest.

She finally found a home for it on the left side of the nest where it seemed stable & she seemed pretty satisfied. She likely needed a rest after all that work… whew! After moving just one other small stick on her way out, she decided that was enough for the day & hopped up to the front porch. On her way up, she knocked a stick out of place & it was heard falling to the ground. It also caused another stick to pop straight up in their front doorway entrance. It's kind of prominent so hopefully they will take care of it the next time they return.

Each day brings new challenges for our eagles, whether it be placing wonky sticks, chasing off intruders, raising their young or finding food to fill their crop to eat. They remain resilient & strong & we can all learn so much from watching them.

It's such a joy to see them in their natural element, thriving & surviving as their bond becomes closer each day. As we begin this new year of 2024 in just a couple of days, we are hopeful it will be a successful nesting season for Jackie & Shadow. We will remain patient & definitely stay tuned for nature & hormones to decide when it's time for eggs.

Thanks for being here on this journey with us! We are wishing you, our special eagle family, all the best for a very healthy, safe & Happy New Year!

BKind2

spideyman

Congratulations to M15 and F23. Welcome to the world E23! Official Hatch Time for E23 is 7:07:05, E23 was completely out of the shell. It is a bittersweet day for All. Egg 2 was compromised, it did not hatch, the chick did not survive.