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Gizmoon front porch bramch
Eagle Log
Exciting Times Ahead
A brief thunderstorm that included some light rain and hail, passed through the area Tuesday afternoon. One fish was delivered all day by Shadow, in the late morning before the storm. When Jackie checked in on them before bed, she delivered a small stick instead of a fish… that gave both chicks reason to go after Mama's toes… ouch!
The chicks were together in the nest overnight and awoke the next morning to a clear, peaceful day and a somewhat cleaner nest from the rain. Papa Shadow delivered a fresh fish early which Sunny claimed but she and Gizmo both self-fed. Jackie arrived and fed the chicks the remainder of fish, also taking some bites for herself.
Gizmo found a small feather in the nest and she and Sunny played beakies with it until the wind carried it off. They also noticed a stick in the nest that had to be moved, so they took turns going back and forth to find just the right place for it…very similar to Jackie and Shadow's familiar nest building technique. Then they spent some time on both porches working on wingers in the breeze.
Later in the day, Sunny was on the front porch when she spotted Shadow incoming with a fish from the lake. She quickly scooted into the nest and was in the ready position next to Gizmo. As Shadow landed, a sea of feathers and wings were hiding the fish, but suddenly Sunny appeared out of the chaos with it in her beak!
But wait… Gizmo quickly ran over and grabbed the fish from Sunny. They took turns eating and stealing the fish several times from each other's feet or beak. Both got plenty of pieces and they ate well. To close the day, they sat together watching the sparrows as they darted around the nest tree at dusk.
Today, Gizmo is 89 days old and she is still preparing to take her first solo flight, just like big sis Sunny did a few days ago. Sunny took her 2nd flight this morning from the High Perch of the nest tree. Jackie followed her and they soared above the nest as Gizmo looked on. Gizmo had some intense wingersizing sessions yesterday on the High Perch. We're all here rooting for you Gizmo!
BKind2
Sunny fledged 6/2 10:46, Gizmo has not yet fledged. Video of Sunny soaring with Jackie and Shadow:
• Sunny's Flight School✈️Soaring & HOVERING ...
Looks like Sunny has grown from a perch potato into a Frequent Flyer Pro overnight!
She has been flying in and out of the nest all morning, chasing the parents on the Simba Tree and begging for food. Soon she will be intercepting them outside of the nest and "stealing" their fish. Those are great behaviors that she needs to master before she gains independence. For several months, she will be scavenging and stealing food from other animals, while learning to catch live prey.
She has already mastered landings on top of trees and nest canopy and landed the Back Porch landing. She will learn to land on low branches soon. Looks like she is being very careful about sticking her wings in tight spaces, just like me parking with a new car. 😅
Gizmo is looking anxious and ready to follow her sister any day now!
Poem from our Volunteer Moderator Kelsie Cicalla 💛
🪹 Gizmo was home for her sister’s return.
Watching closely and ready to learn.
Your 1st leap you're bound to earn.
A flight away we know you yearn.
✨ A bright future now lies ahead,
Flying high with a steady head.
Overnight Sunny’s grown into a pro,
Who was before a perch potato. 😉
i’m so tickled that they had a successful year despite a loss.
thank you so very much spidey for the great updates. Very appreciated.
They will be watched and fed- whether at the nest, ground or trees.
Jackie brought fish to nest. Sunny flew in. Gizmo worked her way back to nest tree. Both spent night at nest tree. June 8/9
New adventures in togetherness…
After both spending the night back in the nest, Sunny and Gizmo were up early, looking toward where Jackie and Shadow might be roosting…and each calling out. Perhaps they were showing off their louder voices, or maybe, complaining that the room service was late.
When no breakfast came, Sunny left out the back door…but circled to come right back in the front door. Gizmo tracked Sunny and greeted her with open wings when she returned. Maybe Sunny’s loop was a test to see if the breakfast would come if she left. It didn’t.
So, she left again…and flew to her newly named Sunny’s Hideout tree. Gizmo headed out soon after…and flew to the Simba Tree, where she originally fledged. Empty nest again.
By midday, the sisters decided to hang out together even though they weren’t on the nest. Sunny took the initiative and flew to Sunny’s tree and sort of sprawled onto the branches right next to Gizmo. They each shifted places a bit until they got comfortable—and they spent over an hour there together before adventuring elsewhere.
Food finally arrived at the nest mid-afternoon. Apparently, room service at the nest now takes its time about things. Jackie waited with her fish, looking around for takers…and soon Gizmo arrived to claim it. Sunny could be heard nearby, saying the fish was hers, but she didn’t arrive for 10 minutes. When she did, she waited almost politely, before stealing the fish from Gizmo…and they had a few tugging matches, but both of them got to eat.
Gizmo even did a new maneuver of sneaking underneath Sunny from behind to snatch a big chunk of fish.
In the evening, Jackie brought another fish that got eaten by Sunny and Gizmo both…and Shadow brought yet another one. Jackie’s whole sweet family had dinner together in the nest, while Jackie watched over them from the front porch. After Jackie and Shadow left for the night, Sunny and Gizmo found nice roost perches and spent the night on the nest.
We, and Jackie and Shadow, are learning a lot about what happens when two eaglets fledge. It’s heart-warming to see the sisters still spending time together in the nest, as well as out in the territory!
Sand
2025-06-12
Exploring The Habitat
Sunny and Gizmo awakened to another beautiful sunrise at the nest yesterday morning. As they perched together looking out at the lake, they listened attentively to the sweet song from Mom and Dad nearby. Such a comforting greeting to begin their day!
Both Sunny and Gizmo spent the morning tree-hopping, flying about from tree to tree, sometimes together, other times alone. It seems they are already choosing which trees are their favorites, but are also discovering new ones with amazing lookout spots around the habitat.
They both look stunning in flight as they soar across the sky and even though some of their landings may be a little shaky or off target, they are still improving and recovering well when ‘little oopsies’ do occur.
In the afternoon, Sunny must have seen Shadow on his way to the nest to deliver the first fresh fish of the day. A very hungry, vocal Sunny was hot on Dad's trail and she arrived on the front porch first. Seconds later, Shadow flew in over Sunny's head and landed in the nest. Sunny grabbed the fish, mantled her prize, spreading her wings over it to protect it.
While all this was going on, Gizmo chose a cool perch branch in the basement under the nest where she hung out before going up later to join the family for a meal. When more fish arrived, Gizmo flew up to claim a couple of prizes of her own. The girls both self-fed but also still received bites from Mom and Dad.
Jackie and Shadow also gave a lesson in the importance of fighting for your food and protecting it. Both girls, especially Gizmo, are proving to be quite the aggressive little fish thieves, which is a great skill for when they are out on their own.
The day wound down after the family fish fest was complete and all crops were full. Mom and Dad left for the night and Sunny and Gizmo were in a bit of a food coma, in addition to being very tired from their busy day exploring the neighborhood. They laid down together and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of all the new eagle adventures in store for them tomorrow.
Sweet eagle dreams…
BKind22
Eagle Log
The Sister Team…
Sunny and Gizmo were awake early Tuesday, watching Big Bear’s great outdoors together on the front porch. After a special balancing act show, Sunny was first off the nest. Gizmo needed a little more quiet contemplation on the balcony, before she started her day.
Sunny soon detected a parental food delivery to the Twin Pines and flew in to snatch it up. Gizmo arrived quickly to an upper limb, but could only watch Sunny eat. It took Gizmo some serious analyzing and figuring out, but she eventually maneuvered her way across branches down to the breakfast bar. She stared at Sunny and waited, hoping for a bit, but wasn’t hungry enough to get aggressive.
Exploring around the territory, Sunny found a new tree to hang out on.
By afternoon, they both showed up at the nest tree. From the front porch, Gizmo watched Sunny smoothly fly in to a side branch just below. They both had a great panoramic view of their territory and maybe were contemplating their next move…
…a beautiful soaring excursion! Gizmo and Sunny soared through the air of that territory, together weaving loops and circles and definitely looking like they were having a grand time.
While they were on the nest tree, it seemed that Gizmo had been elected spokesperson for this visit. She did a great job of calling out frequently to remind any parental unit or room service delivery personnel that they were both hungry. But apparently the staff was on break, so Gizmo went to search for them, still calling out…and Sunny followed to help.
By evening, Sunny again tried the lower side branch of the nest tree, and later, the front porch, reminding anyone listening that she was hungry again. She even posed for some impressive closeups, but no food arrived. Still hoping, she came back one more time to check for food, then headed out for the night. Gizmo likely got a food delivery elsewhere in the day since she wasn’t hungry enough to come by in the evening.
Though Jackie and Shadow were not there this evening, one of the sisters spent the night on the family roost tree. It was adorable to see her out there, following in the footsteps of mom and dad.
Sandy
Eagle Log
Separate visits: first Gizmo, then Sunny…
Visits from Sunny and Gizmo are becoming few and far between, however, they both did stop by the nest Thursday to say hello to their fans and to show us they are doing well.
Around noon time, Gizmo landed in the attic of the ‘Y’ branch. She moved down to the shade of the nest and it looked like she may have found a few leftover nibbles. She laid down in her familiar spot next to the big branch toward the back porch. After a little rest, she flew off the front porch to the Cactus Snag tree.
She landed on the outer branch, then hopped over to the spot against the trunk of the tree, where Mom and Dad like to sit and observe. From there, she moved over with perfect dexterity to the top of the very thin branch to the right, catching hold of it with her talons and using her amazing wings to balance. She moved with elegance and grace as she danced on one foot, then both feet. She was then off from there, with the wind beneath her wings.
Since she began branching, Gizmo has been showing us her talent for dance. She delicately twirls on her toes and her dance moves are just so fun to watch. She will definitely be considered the most beautiful ‘branch dancer’ in the family!
The rest of the afternoon was quiet except when Mom or Dad also stopped by the Cactus Snag briefly before flying off. Later, Mama Jackie arrived at the nest with empty talons. She called out and while we heard a vocal response, no one showed up, so Jackie flew off.
Less than ten minutes later, Sunny arrived sporting a big healthy crop! While Sunny sat in observation mode on the front porch, Gizmo flew by, then she landed somewhere down in the basement where she stayed briefly. Before Sunny flew off the nest tree for the night, she hopped off the front porch to a lower limb below.
Although no food was delivered to the nest yesterday, while the girls are still in the area and still training, we can see by their full crops that they are eating elsewhere, which is most definitely a good thing. We are holding close every precious and valuable moment we have with them!
BKind22
Nest is still home base…
Gizmo decided to hang out on the Cactus Snag Wednesday morning, searching the area to check her options and evaluate where she wanted to head. Then she flew off to wherever called her curiosity.
By mid-morning, Jackie brought a fish to the nest and waited for a while to see if anyone came to claim it. There was some definite juvenile squealing in the distance, so at least one of the girls was very interested. When no one came to the nest, Jackie picked up the fish and flew off with it in her beak to find someone to feed it to.
By early evening, a gentle Band-tailed Pigeon (different than city pigeons and native to our mountains) was enjoying a rest on the front porch balcony when it suddenly decided that might not be a good place to sit…because one of those giant birds—Gizmo to be exact—came flying in to land in that same spot.
Gizmo stayed on the front porch long enough to pose for a nice closeup, and then climbed up to the balcony, maybe to see if her squeals would be heard better from up there. She kept calling, but apparently didn’t have quite enough patience. Gizmo left out the back door only a few minutes before Jackie arrived in the front door with another fish.
Jackie again waited…and may have nibbled a bit or perhaps munched down about half the fish before she gave up on anyone coming to claim it. But Jackie is determined. She again picked up the remainder of the fish and this time headed out the back door to go juvenile hunting around the area.
Wherever they were, it is likely that either Gizmo or Sunny had a beautiful fish delivered to their location by the expert J&S food delivery service. And even though Sunny and Shadow were not spotted specifically on the nest or perches today, there were fly-bys of adult eagles and of juvenile eagles, where it is not possible to identify them from the distance. It is likely that Shadow had the ‘tracking Sunny’ assignment for the day, while Jackie took on the ‘tracking Gizmo’ task.
It's great to still have them visiting at the nest and nearby perches so we can watch as they learn the skills of eaglehood.
Sandy
Survival Skills
There was another beautiful sunrise Tuesday morning as this little eagle family of four headed out to begin their day. Before lunchtime, one of our two girls and a parent were seen on the Twin Pine and another juvenile was spotted on the Lookout Snag.
After that, it was pretty quiet in the neighborhood until around dinner time, when Gizmo arrived at the nest through the back porch. What a nice surprise! She watched Sunny flying overhead and when Sunny landed on the High Perch, Gizmo hurried over and hopped up beside her.
Gizmo then decided to move down to the front porch, in the perfect spot just below Sunny. So while there why not take a couple of affectionate nibbles at sis's tail and wing feathers!
Both Sunny and Gizmo vocalized loudly during their stay, but no one showed up with any fish or food. Sunny balanced on her tippie toes on the High Perch branch as Gizmo sweetly nibbled a few more times on Sunny's feathers. They stayed perched about an hour or so, then Sunny flew off toward the Simba Tree and Gizmo followed close behind.
Just a few short weeks ago, these two beautiful sisters strengthened their legs and wings, gaining confidence to climb up on the outer nest rails, and scaled branches of the nest tree, like the High Perch and the attic of the ‘Y’ branch. Once they fledged, their confidence soared as they took to the sky, and these siblings are now quite efficient and stunning!
Sunny and Gizmo are guided by instinct and will continue to learn to hunt by trial and error. During their first year they will primarily scavenge and steal from other birds while they develop the flight skills needed to catch live prey.
To master fishing may take a little longer as it's more of an acquired skill. In the meantime, if they are near shallow water, they may catch a fish directly with their beak, as this is an easier technique. We have also already witnessed both Sunny and Gizmo eat food on a branch.
We certainly hope to see more of these two bonded sisters, but if they disperse sooner than later, we know their amazing parents are preparing them with the skills they need for surviving their first winter.
BKind22
The Fl eagles M15 and F23 both flew off for days following last years 4th fireworks.
https://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Dangers-of-Fireworks.pdf
as of 19:38 July 5 both seen in Twin Pine Tree-- THankful. No word on Sunny or Gismo
Early July 5:
Eagle Log
The morning after…
Yesterday morning, July 4, Jackie and Shadow were seen together on their favorite Roost Tree, chortling out their morning song and then working on waking up enough to start their day. When they headed out, one of them dropped by the Lookout Snag to check everything around the habitat before continuing to their next destination.
In the afternoon, a juvenile red-tailed hawk spent a long time in the basement of the eagles’ nest tree. There has been a juvenile red-tail using the basement as an observation post the past few days, so likely, it is the same hawk each day, and it probably fledged recently from a nearby nest.
While under there, the hawk listened carefully when another juvenile squealed out a couple times. – It could have been listening to another juvenile hawk, or a juvenile eagle. They sound almost identical.
In the evening either Jackie or Shadow was on the Twin Pines, hanging out and checking out the surrounding neighborhood. They even turned around to give a nice front view while they scanned around the other side of the neighborhood.
And by a little after 8 pm, Jackie and Shadow both chortled out an announcement that they were in the roost tree. They were settled in, near each other and ready for sleep by 8:30.
At about 9 pm when some booms started, one of the eagles was no longer visible on the Roost Tree and was seen by our security camera flying away from the roost tree. Jackie made a peal call (a call emitted as a warning about danger) and a couple other short calls from nearby.
The full show started at 9:17 and no eagles were visible on the roost tree by 9:18. The fireworks went on for another 20 minutes to the big finale.
Jackie and Shadow were not in the Roost Tree this morning. And none of their usual vocals were heard from anywhere nearby. We will all be sending out hope for their speedy return.
Sandy