Live Eagle Cam — Big Bear, California

spideyman

September 14, 2024 3:05 am

Big Bear got orders to evacuate.. a 34 yr old man was arrested the other evening.. He has been charged for setting 3 separate fires, in the Line fire..has 9 felony charges cited against him,, they are also investigating if he set any other fires. Goes to court next Fri..we are now having cooler weather and that is helping some contain ment

Smoke still being seen in the nesting area.

spideyman

FL cams installed

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

yesterday 1:32PM   · 

Jackie and Shadow visits…plus fire update…

Yesterday either Jackie or Shadow spent over an hour in the mid-afternoon in their favorite Roost Tree, just hanging out watching around the neighborhood…until they flew off to check on other things…or maybe to grab an early dinner from the lake.

…then Shadow came to the Roost Tree in the evening and spent the night. It wasn’t known that it was Shadow until this morning when he let out a few ‘distinctly Shadow’ chortles.

Over the past few days, either Jackie or Shadow has one at a time spent the night on the Roost Tree or stopped by either the Lookout Snag in the morning or the Stick Depot Snag in the evening. Because of the distance, it is not possible to tell which one it is on those trees unless they announce it by the uniquely different sounds in their chortles.

The Line Fire, southwest of Big Bear Valley, has burned over 38,000 acres but thankfully is now 36% contained. And in a positive direction, the mandatory evacuation of a small portion of Big Bear has been moved from mandatory back to only warning level.---We are continuing our grateful Thank You’s to all the amazing fire men and women working to contain this fire and keep us all safe!!

Even though there are some winds you can hear on the eagle cam, and the valley may continue to look smoky, even as the flames die away, the weather is staying cooler and wetter, with possible rain predicted later today or tomorrow. You can also hear the helicopters working around the clock to pick up water from the lake and drop it on the fire.

We will keep watching for visits from Jackie and Shadow and let you know about any major updates. Thank you all very much for your caring and positive thoughts about Jackie and Shadow and our forest!

Sandy

spideyman

Both of our eagles have returned to the nest and have been working on restoring it already. I have received word that the camera work in the tree has been completed and that the cameras have been tested and are ready to go. They may--not for sure--but may go live as early as tomorrow, Sept. 17th. I have set up these blank posts for me to fill in later but will unlock the thread for your observations if the cams are turned on. Thank you all---and happy season 13!! Keep watching the new SWFEC thread! 



https://dickpritchettrealestate.com/southwest-florida-eagle-cam/?cam=1#google_vignette

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

rseSdtpono80l1ihla798m3411i102um202g22004itf1c00hul3h5161c12  · 

Fall Homecoming…

Happy first day of Fall in the eagle's nest! Throughout the month of September, Jackie and Shadow have both been seen and heard often around their eagle habitat. The last stick was brought into the nest by Jackie on 8/25 and both eagles visited briefly on 8/24. They have not actually made a nest visit for 27 days so everyone was excited to see them together in the nest on Saturday afternoon!

They both looked in great form, with most of their new feathers from their annual spring/summer molt. Jackie's white head looked a bit darker than her whiter tail feathers, perhaps from some remaining ash in the air. Shadow's tail feathers (rectrices) looked a bit dirty but just fine. If it remains, this could possibly be used as a field mark to identify him easier in future visits. Jackie had a black spot on a tail feather last season which appears to have been replaced with this current molt.

Jackie arrived first on Saturday and stayed on the nest the longest, just under two hours. She spent some time preening, as well as tidying up, as she waited for Shadow to come over from the Lookout Snag tree. It's pretty well known that queen Jackie seems to be somewhat meticulous about her appearance, so she is likely to be seen preening more often than Shadow.

They vocalized back and forth to each other about something important before Shadow arrived. As soon as he flew in, he got to work helping Jackie move sticks around, but he was still in observation mode and continued to check things out around the nest tree. During his seven minutes there with Jackie, they worked together, got in a quick beaky kiss and posed for some amazing photos before flying off to the Roost Tree together for the night.

Last week, Jackie and Shadow spent some early morning time on their favorite snag trees and shared a few beaky kisses in the Lookout Snag. The bird choirs are still quite vocal in the forest and several varieties of little feathered friends have been visiting the nest daily. And of course, we've also seen Fiona, the San Bernardino flying squirrel, scurrying around in the nest at night as she digs for treats and small treasures.

Toward the end of last week, cooler weather was welcomed to the area on Friday as wind and clouds rolled in. The rain and brief graupel brought a nice refreshing to the area and hopefully also a little cleansing to the nest.

The weather is predicted to warm up a bit again next week. The Line Fire is currently 60% contained (as of 9/22). Hopefully, the winds continue to remain minimal and the Big Bear skies will remain clear. Again, we are thankful to all the dedicated firefighters who are still working tirelessly to contain this fire, as they keep everyone safe, including the local wildlife. They are all amazing heros to so many!

We are all very excited to see Jackie and Shadow start to come into the nest more in the weeks to come to begin nestorations for the upcoming nesting season As always, thank you for being here with us eagle family and we appreciate your support!

BKind22

spideyman

spideyman

Just before they flew off to safer  coverage.  As of this morning ground reports tree and nest are ok.

spideyman

Sept 30

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

  · 

Timely visit…

Jackie and Shadow very kindly decided to do a quick visit to the nest yesterday evening before heading over to their roost tree. It was lovely and calming to see them both doing a few end-of-the-day ‘nestorations’.

Jackie arrived right before dusk and found a few teeny tiny twigs that just had to be rearranged. Then she softened up a bit of the nesting material underneath and gave the nest bowl a good inspection…maybe finding a few ants since she kept having to shake something off of her beak…

…when Shadow arrived, they got down to some more serious work—a few medium-sized sticks were obviously out of place and had to be adjusted. One especially stubborn stick required Jackie and Shadow working together to get it to lay down properly. They both poked around a bit more in the nest bowl before Jackie headed toward the back porch…no sense in doing too much intense effort right before bedtime.

While Jackie stood on the back porch, taking up most of the camera view, as she of course deserves, Shadow hopped out to the front porch and flew off toward the roost tree. Jackie carefully watched where he went, then quickly decided to join him. And they settled into their comfy Roost Tree positions for the night.

In the meantime, you may be hearing that a small portion of Big Bear is again under evacuation warning (warning only, not mandatory) as the Line Fire has expanded from the quiet position it had been holding. (A small community, Seven Oaks, a few miles from Big Bear, is under mandatory evacuation.) Helicopters could be heard on the nest camera as they picked up water from the lake to drop on the fire.

Today the fire that was moving in this direction has calmed down and is moving away from the area, toward a previously burned section.

We thank Jackie and Shadow for letting us know that they are fine and not worried about the fire. They are more concerned about those little mischievous sticks in the nest that get out of alignment when they are not continually monitored.

This morning Jackie and Shadow both followed their recent pattern of stopping by the Lookout Snag for a look around before heading out toward the lake for the day.

Thank you to our dedicated firefighters for continuing their amazing efforts on this fire.

Sandy

Hedda Gabler

Thank you spidey. 

spideyman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KBelWBuRHY . 


From Lady Hawk -- Oct,10. 2024

We got the good news this morning that the nest tree and nest were not damaged by hurricane Milton and that both M15 & F23 were seen! The cams were still down but at least we knew they were safe.

Then late in the afternoon the cams came back online and we saw F23 come to the nest briefly and then head to the attic as she waited for M15. Beautiful closeups of her ♥ M15 flies in and they both drop to the nest to do some nest work, moving sticks.

M15 will fly to the attic and we have some great closeups of our handsome M15. F23 will lie in the nest testing it out! (She lies to the side of the log divider!) Then she gets up & goes to the veranda and decides she will head back to the nest and lie down a second time!

M15 will bring in a stick and he has to work around F23 as he places his stick. They have a few beakie discussions and then F23 will fly off. M15 works on a stick rail before he flies off to the Northeast. Thank you for watching!


 https://youtu.be/36VTljFZHV4

Post Hurricane Milton Visit ~ M15/F23 & The Nest Look Great & Strong 10.11.24

M15 & F23 were perched in the church tree when I arrived. F23 dropped the pine bough she had there and flew on to the nest with M15 following her carrying a small stick. It was a breezy & cooler day since Hurricane Milton's landfall on Wednesday. Both adults look good and strong as does the nest. They both continued to add sticks and work in the nest, taking a short break to fly across the road by one of the "neighbor" eagles perched on the cell tower. There was mating, discussions and perching together. I am very thankful our eagles are okay & the nest and area were spared heavy damage.

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

· 

Closer and closer…

Jackie and Shadow are apparently being drawn more and more to the nest as we head into late fall weather. They have been spending most nights together on their favorite roost tree near the nest, plus they visited the nest together 3 times this week.

Earlier in the week, they both dropped in right before dusk. As they cleaned up a few sticks that had strayed from their proper place, Jackie pushed to sneak in some nice beaky kiss activity! Then they quickly went back to their cleanup work before they both headed out, Shadow first, then Jackie, over to the roost tree. And they even snuggled together on the same limb for the night.

A few days later, Jackie visited on her own in the evening, and brought a stick to confirm she is getting ready for stepping up the nest activity. Two days ago, they dropped by the nest together in the middle of the afternoon, with Jackie bringing another stick. And they both kept a close eye on a raven that was showing off his flying acrobatics over the nest.

As Shadow headed to the front porch, he casually caught Jackie’s head under his wing—and she didn’t even complain. He stuck around for about 20 minutes on the side porch…then Jackie stayed for over an hour after Shadow left, out in front, surveying the whole neighborhood. They both stopped in again before bedtime that evening to double-check that everything was in order before heading off for another night together on the nearby roost tree.

On Thursday night we had a rare sighting of the beautiful Aurora Borealis (northern lights) on the cameras! So, if you didn’t get a glimpse from where you live, at least you get to see it here.

Tonight, Jackie and Shadow played a bit of “musical perch trees” in the early evening. They started with one of them on the Stick Depot Snag (SDS) and one on the Twin Pines (TP), then both on the Twin Pines, then both on the SDS, then both at the nest. They spent most of this nest visit moving sticks, including one that took a joint effort to get properly arranged. After several minutes of intense nest work, they each headed off the back porch to spend the night in their “togetherness space” on the roost tree.

Our fall newsletter is out! For anyone who might not have gotten one, it’s included here. (If you would like to be added to the list to receive the newsletter by mail or email, please send a request to us at fobbvinfo@gmail.com.)

We also just received the first shipment of some great new Jackie and Shadow tee-shirt designs. You can check them out here and purchase on our website shop https://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/shop/…and also pick up your 2025 calendar while you’re there. All merchandise sales go to support our nonprofit mission of protecting Big Bear Valley species and habitats.

Another thank you to our brave fire crews!--the fire is now more than 94% contained and all evacuation notices and warnings have been taken off.

We’ll be watching to see if Jackie and Shadow continue their more frequent nest visits as some cooler weather sets in. Thank you to all of you for watching!

Sandy

Hedda Gabler

Thank you fir these updates spidey. I sure do appreciate them.  Need to get back into the routine of checking the cameras. 

spideyman

oct 21

Sticks and fluff and…PINE CONES!

Jackie and Shadow have continued visiting the nest almost daily, with Jackie being the most-frequent and longest-staying visitor.

On Saturday evening, Shadow arrived first for some small stick taming—moving this one over here and that one over there, to get them all calmed and into their proper location. When Jackie arrived with another small stick, they both continued making changes to the smaller house decorations.

After a bit of bumping around each other in the nest bowl, Shadow decided it called for a bit of beaky pecky to give approval of Jackie’s rearranging assistance—as they do each bit of nest arranging, every bumping movement into each other, every direct look at each other and every beaky touch, it all tightens the ongoing bond between them.

As Shadow circled around the nest edges, inspecting every change, Jackie started moving some medium sized furniture into new places. So, of course, Shadow stepped back in to give a little more assistance before heading to the back porch.

Even though Shadow was finished for the evening, apparently the sticks weren’t—they got his toes 'stuck in sticks' as he tried to leave and threw off his balance. He had to reorganize his position before he could head out to the roost tree. Jackie was very careful in preparing to leave to make sure no sticks tried to hold onto her.

Last night both Jackie and Shadow were back for another nest visit. Shadow arrived first, and as he landed, a couple of pesky sticks jumped right into his landing path so he had to settle with them before he could do anything else. Within a few minutes, dusk turned on the Infrared light making the picture turn from full color to black & white—please know that neither the eagles nor humans can see the infrared light—it just allows the camera to pick up the images so we can watch after dark.

Jackie soon arrived to join Shadow, and with her she brought...a Giant pine cone! Shadow immediately took the pine cone and looked around for a place to put it. But, it seems he couldn’t find one. He quickly put the pine cone down and decided to ignore it and go back to work on the easy stuff, the big sticks. He knows what to do with them and they allow him to order them around…at least most of the time.

Once again, when he decided he was finished some of the sticks tried to hold him back. But he pulled free as Jackie took over the stick placement behind him. After Shadow left out the back door, it was obvious that Jackie was also ignoring that big elephant in the nest—the pine cone. Even as she almost stepped on it, she kept her focus elsewhere. Leaving it laying there, Jackie soon left out the back to join Shadow in the roost tree.

We’ll look forward to seeing what happens on their next visit…and what they decide to do with the new big pine cone laying in the middle of everything.

Sandy

PS For anyone interested in some of our other amazing species in Big Bear Valley, we just released an updated version of Tim Krantz’s Guide to Rare and Unusual Wildflowers of Big Bear Valley, called “A Wildflower Treasure Hunt.” The book has been out of print for several years and we are grateful to be able to work with Dr. Krantz to update and re-release this awesome guide. Some of these species exist only in our valley and nowhere else in the world! Find it on our website at: https://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/.../a-wildflower.../

spideyman

M15 and F23 arrived with the sunrise and were busy adding sticks, some moss and a pine bough. F added 2 sticks and the pine bough and M added 5 sticks. Almost all were large crib rail sticks. They rearranged and intertwined the new sticks with their regular 'discussions' in between. They perched in the attic and preened together. There was a good mating on the attic branch also. The nest is looking great and our eagles continue to work hard preparing the nest for soon to come eggs and eaglets. F23 laid eggs the last week of November last season and we shall soon see when eggs are laid this season.

not_nadine

Bald Eagle's nest with a ranger for scale. 

spideyman

Nov. 4  Jackie and Shadow approve

On Wednesday morning, Jackie brought a stick to the nest in the early morning and arranged a few other sticks…and then she tried out the nest bowl to see how it fit…for over half an hour. That’s the longest she has sat in the nest bowl so far this season as she prepares to use it.

About an hour after Jackie’s arrival, Shadow brought his own stick to the nest and they worked together on the furniture movements. Jackie left to shop for another stick and shortly after she delivered it, Shadow left to let her finish the interior designing. She found 2 more perfect sticks at the nearby shop, including one huge monstronsity that took several moves around the nest to find just the right spot. After that big job was complete, Jackie decided to take a break for the rest of the day.

This afternoon, Jackie and Shadow flew into the nest at the same moment—a rare occurrence—and landed in perfect unison. In the blustery wind, they moved a few sticks to better places, but mostly watched around the neighborhood. While they were there, Jackie took a quick lay down in the nest bowl again, making sure it still fit.

They have been roosting within hearing distance the past few nights, even though not on their longtime favorite roost tree.

Also, this week, we did some major maintenance and upgrades on the camera systems. The work was all done at the ground station, away from the nest tree and with no climbing in the nest tree.

The maintenance included overhauling and upgrading the complete power and connectivity infrastructure and expanding the battery bank (which now weighs in at over 500 pounds!) We also upgraded the Wide View camera, to a model with better, sharper pan and zoom capability—for better observation of Jackie and Shadow’s favorite perch trees and the surrounding area.

During the work, Jackie visited the nest front porch and sat calmly watching us (we were over 400 feet away) for over an hour. Then she apparently decided we were doing everything correctly and left us to finish the work.

As with each maintenance operation, there were various technical challenges--a solar panel broken during shipping from the factory, some components not working according to specs, getting all of the different components to communicate with each other correctly and very heavy equipment that needed to be hauled to and from the site across rugged, steep terrain.

We thank our awesome team for their amazing support and assistance… 
…Dr. Peter Sharpe, our extraordinary wildlife, camera and system specialist, for his ingenuity, being able to think outside of the box and always finding solutions for even the most difficult situations. And for the tree climbing of the Cam2 tree several times for the wide-angle camera change out. Thank you also to Cali Condor and Carl Picciolo for assistance on all the system installation, set-up and operations. And thank you to our special team of ‘heavy lifters,’ helping to hike equipment to and from the site—Clayton Skoien, Lewis Bucklew, Shelley Egan and of course, Carl, Peter, Cali and me.

We are happy to report that Jackie and Shadow have apparently given their approval of all the work! Thank you to all of you for your patience while the cameras were offline at various times. 
Enjoy the view!
Sandy

spideyman

SWFL Eagles ~ IT"S ALMOST EGG TIME! M15 & F23 Prepare Their Nest w/ Grass, Sticks & Mating 11.3.24


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbF1oRb_voQ . 


From Lady Hawk -- Nov. 3, 2024

M15 & F23 have stepped up their nesting behavior in preparation for those future eggs! From first light in the morning to dusk in the evening, they stay close to the nest, continue to bring in grass and sticks, mate on the attic, visit the pond for sips and F23 was seen lying in the nest much more than she has in the past! She continues to test out the nest bowl for comfort as her hormones dictate her to do in preparation for laying eggs. M15 & F23 are a strong bonded couple as they enter their second breeding season together. It is exciting to watch them work tirelessly and soon, they will be be incubating eggs day and night! ♥ Thank you for watching!

To see the highlights below, please click on the timestamps to advance to that portion of the video.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 M15 delivers soft grass to nest - F23 joins to help spread
04:10 F23 with a stick - M15 helps place it
05:42 F23 lies in nest ♥
06:50 M15 with a stick falls on F23
10:52 Mating on the attic ♥
13:27 F23 lies in nest second time ♥
14:17 M15 goes to the pond - F23 on treetop
14:53 Horses running behind M15 
16:15 F23 lies in nest third time ♥
17:05 M15 closeups at pond
18:30 M15 finds a stick on ground & flies to nest
19:43 M15 with his stick- Soft vocals from F23
21:36 F23 lies in nest fourth time ♥
24:28 F23 and M15 to attic - vocals
26:17 F23 flies off past the church
26:53 M15 flies off following her

Video captured & edited by Lady Hawk

Thank you SWFEC , hosted by Dick Pritchett Real Estate, for allowing us the opportunity to view these amazing eagles.

Cam 1: https://dickpritchettrealestate.com/s...

Cam 2: https://dickpritchettrealestate.com/s...

SWFEC main webpage: https://dickpritchettrealestate.com/

spideyman

Nov. 7

It was a fairly quiet morning yesterday in the eagle neighborhood, but the afternoon brought a long and fun visit from both Jackie and Shadow.

Shadow arrived first, flying in just a bit hot through the back porch. He managed to control his landing though, which inevitably was right on top of that large pine cone sitting in the nest! He seemed just fine though as he readjusted and moved a stick in front of him. After that, he stayed in that hunkered down position until Jackie joined him about a half of an hour later. She also flew in through the back porch but her landing was softer, much quieter, and more graceful.

A couple of ravens were heard vocalizing in the distance, so both Jackie and Shadow took a look around the neighborhood to make sure all was well before they began working in the nest together. They moved stuff around and dug a bit, then they decided it was time for a beaky kiss. As they faced one another in the middle of the nest, they enjoyed some quiet and peaceful moments together just bonding.

After sitting for more than a few minutes in the silence and calm, Jackie decided to move toward the front porch and that's when Shadow seized the opportunity to take a few fun little love nibbles at her feathers! She spun around and looked surprised, but also seemed to enjoy his playfulness as she gave him that precious look that only Jackie can give.

She hopped up further onto the front porch to get a better look around through their big open window with that beautiful view of the lake off in the distance. Just after she did, a raven circled overhead and around the nest tree. They both watched intently, and in sync, as it boldly flew by a second time.

Nothing seemed too upsetting or urgent and since the raven didn't really persist, Shadow rearranged a few sticks before deciding to move out beside Jackie. A hawk was also heard vocalizing, so Shadow suddenly headed out and about to make his presence known. He spent the next hour on the Lookout and Stick Depot Snag trees.

Jackie tracked him as he left and she remained perched on the front porch for a little more than an hour, protecting the nest of any other unwelcome intruders. They seemed to be in protection mode and had their habitat covered well! Her crop looked full which allowed her to enjoy a few crop drop snacks before she flew off to meet Shadow.

They were not in their usual Roost Tree last night, but their sweet chortles were heard throughout the neighborhood as they met up together for the night. They had several “pillow talk” conversations throughout the night which were heard until just before the sun came up this morning. Perhaps there was another intruder nearby or maybe they just couldn't sleep and were discussing the excitement of the upcoming nesting season. Either way, they are perfect together and we all wish them well!

Thank you all for supporting Jackie and Shadow!

BKind22

spideyman

10/8/2025 F23 has laid the first Egg of season 13. We are reviewing for the official time. Congratulations F23 and M15. And congratulations to the Pritchetts and eagle family.

spideyman

spideyman

Official time   2:38PM nest time

spideyman

Congratulations to M15 and F23, Egg 2 arrived tonight 11/11/2024 at 18:15:17 or 6:15pm EST. First good look at both Eggs was at 18:34:40 of 6:34pm EST. F23 is resting.

spideyman

Nov 10

Shadow and Jackie both arrived at the nest just a few seconds apart on Thursday afternoon. They worked together clearing some smaller sticks from the bowl and adjusting some larger guardrails around the edge of the nest. As the sun was setting, the sky was a beautiful ribbon of pink and blue, which was a perfect backdrop, so they paused at times and posed for some sweet fan photos during their work breaks.

Shadow gave Jackie a little love bump as he moved around her in the nest, then made his way up to the back porch for a look around. Once he returned to the nest, they both did a little more work then enjoyed a quiet evening together before heading out for the night. Their little downstairs neighbor, Fiona the flying squirrel, stopped by to check for goodies before scurrying off into the night.

The next morning, after a lovely duet greeting by these two lovebirds, Jackie arrived at the nest bright and early for a quick visit. She was breathing hard but must have had a busy morning planned as she only stayed a couple of minutes before heading back out.

Later in the afternoon, both returned for a longer visit. Shadow arrived first but seemed to come up just a bit short, making kind of a strange landing on the front porch. He hopped over to a better spot and did some preening as he waited for Jackie. She arrived soon after, bringing in the only stick of the day and she placed it immediately. Since Shadow didn't volunteer to get up off the porch chair and help her rearrange the furniture, she decided to head up to a larger branch above him to try to get his attention another way.

Jackie seemed to be in a bit of a frisky mood as she slowly climbed down the branch and then hopped up next to Shadow. Facing him, she threw her head back, chortled a sweet little something and then gently nibbled on the high perch branch. Shadow definitely appeared to have his eye on her, however his attention at that moment seemed to be more focused on just relaxing, perching and observing.

So Jackie flew up to the high perch and observed from there for a bit, then flew off to the Lookout Snag tree where she stayed for a short while and did some preening. Altogether, Shadow spent a little over an hour and a half in his comfy front porch spot, then at sunset he finally called it quits and flew out for the night.

Yesterday was a very quiet day around the eagle neighborhood except for some early morning chortles heard by our pair. Sunday morning has been peaceful and quiet so far as well. Of course, we are all hoping for a nest visit later today or perhaps we'll see them in some of their favorite trees. Have an amazing week everyone and thank you for following Jackie and Shadow!

BKind22