Jackie, the Big Bear, and Shadow welcomed their first hatchery.
Thousands of viewers have been watching the Eagles’ nests since the first PIP displays over the weekend, watching one of their hatcheries appear, with a tiny little feather appearing before 11:30 PM on Monday night and the beak appears.
Friends from Okura Valley announced that Sunday may be incubated on Sunday after the first PIP appears. The team operates a 24-hour webcam that spys on the Eagles’ nests 145 feet overlooking Jeffrey Pine of Big Bear Lake.
PIPPIGT is the online vigil and hoopla around the event when the young bird opens the shell with its beak.
“Tears of joy!!” responded to a person on Facebook after the first crack appeared on Sunday.
In 2023, Jackie and Shadow's eggs were eaten by a crow. Last winter was heartbreaking too. The pair added a rare third egg to the clutch in late January, but the cold weather was severe. Once, a storm left Jackie on her nest for 62 hours in a row, sometimes completely covered in snow.
Low oxygen levels at high altitudes were one of the reasons why friends of the Okura Valley group suspected that Jackie’s three eggs failed to hatch that year. The cold, snowy winter and rainy springs also dim the chances of survival of the young Eagles.
Sandy Steers, a biologist and executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, said vulture eggs usually have a 50-50 incubation opportunity. According to the American Eagle Foundation, less than 50% of the Eagle team survived once hatched.
