The viral bald eagle of Big Bear Lake, California, has gained even more popularity after showing an amazing display of motherly instincts as thousands of fans watched via nature cam.
Jackie, a high-soaring resident of the snowy San Bernardino Mountains, shot to fame when nonprofit nature group Friends of Big Bear Valley installed a camera next to her nest. She and her devoted partner, Shadow, have 654,000 Facebook followers who love to see updates of the pair’s life and family.
Amazingly, the mama eagle set a new personal “record” for the longest period of time spent guarding her eggs, Friends of Big Bear Valley announced Wednesday:
62 hours straight!!…a new record!Several times during this continuing snow storm, Jackie was completely covered over in snow!…and then she would pop out through that white blanket, reposition herself, roll her 3 precious eggs and settle back on top of them.In that dedication over the past 3 days, Jackie set a new record!! This is the longest time she has ever stayed on the nest incubating her eggs without a break!—61 hours 58 minutes!When there is bad weather, Jackie will not leave her eggs. She will not let Shadow have a turn on the nest. She will not eat because she has to get off the eggs to do that…she simply covers her eggs, pushing them into the brood patch on her chest, so she can keep them as warm, dry and protected as possible.Yesterday afternoon, Shadow called out to her from a distance, checking on her–(listen carefully on the video starting at minute 2:12 to hear him). And she answered, letting him know that she was fine…but that it wasn’t his turn yet.After dark, as she repositioned herself, she took an extra few seconds for a PS ('poop shot'), relieving herself off the side of the nest…and this good news means that her body was still feeding off of the food stored 2 days earlier in her crop.This morning, Shadow wasn’t waiting any longer…without being asked, he flew to the front porch balcony. Jackie let him know that she wasn’t sure she was ready to have him take over. But he waited patiently, even ignoring her little whines of ‘not yet’…and finally, after over 2-1/2 minutes, his quiet persistence paid off. Jackie climbed out of the nest bowl, flapped snow from her wings and flew off for a well-deserved break……but not without calling back to him from a distance…a thank you…and then maybe a few last-minute instructions. Shadow took some time trying to figure out how to get over that huge pile of snow surrounding the nest bowl…and finally just ran for it, up and over…then climbed ever-so-carefully down the snow bank toward his treasured eggs. Once inside the nest bowl, he knew exactly what to do. And he positioned himself just right to settle down over his eggs for some long-awaited daddy duty.Nature and our amazing eagles know what they are doing, no matter how hard it might appear to us. Thank you all for your curiosity and your amazing willingness to watch and learn.Sandyps, There are still some 2024 Jackie and Shadow calendars left! You can get yours at https://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/shop/2024-calendars/ as a gift or simply to enjoy for yourself. If you are in Big Bear, you can get the calendars locally at Chirp Nature Centers or Butcher's Block.
Posted by Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam on Wednesday, February 7, 2024
In a heroic saga viewed live by wildlife fans around the world, Jackie spent an impressive 62 hours straight in her nest as harsh temperatures and heavy snow threatened her three precious eggs.
“Several times during this continuing snow storm, Jackie was completely covered over in snow!” the nonprofit wrote.
“In that dedication over the past 3 days, Jackie set a new record!! This is the longest time she has ever stayed on the nest incubating her eggs without a break!—61 hours 58 minutes!”
The nature organization went on to detail how Jackie and Shadow collaborated and took shifts to keep their offspring safe during the winter storms that hit the San Bernardino Mountains this week.
According to the nature cam, Jackie didn’t even eat in those two-and-a-half days she was guarding the nest from the weather.
“Nature and our amazing eagles know what they are doing, no matter how hard it might appear to us,” Friends of Big Bear Valley wrote to its followers. “Thank you all for your curiosity and your amazing willingness to watch and learn.”
The post had garnered more than 218,000 views as of Saturday afternoon.
In an update to Facebook, the organization described Jackie’s actions as using “her wings as a mombrella” and added that Shadow had brought her back some food so she could finally eat:
Stay Calm and Eagle On…It's been an exciting, epic, ‘on the edge of our seats’ last few days! Jackie has shown us…
Posted by Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam on Friday, February 9, 2024
