Nesting season is upon us. Bald eagles Jackie and Shadow, two of Big Bear’s most famous, are preparing for the arrival of the first egg of 2026, which could appear anytime over the next few months.
Jennifer Voisard, media and website manager for the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley, which runs two webcams capturing life in the eagles’ nest that attract thousands of viewers daily, said the two lovebirds built their nest last fall and are now “bonding and flirting” with each other as they settle into nesting season, which runs January through April.
January, Voisard said, is when the nonprofit begins egg watch. A team is looking for signs 24/7 that could indicate Jackie is about to lay eggs.
“The signs for that are she rouses her feathers, which means she puffs them out, and she will make a tea kettle noise before she’s about to lay her eggs. You will also notice, leading up to that, she’ll be doing what we call pancaking,” Voisard said.
“Pancaking” is the act of settling into the incubation position and assessing the comfort and fit of the nest, usually before or around egg‑laying.
The two birds are also working on making their nest more “comfortable,” which could indicate a growing family, Voisard said.
“Jackie and Shadow have recently been bringing what we call ‘fluff’ to the nest, which are the softer materials. And they usually don’t bring those until it’s close” to the time Jackie lays her first egg, Voisard said.
If Jackie lays eggs, the incubation period is about 40 days. Last season, Jackie and Shadow welcomed three chicks: Misty, Sunny and Gizmo — names selected by Big Bear Valley Elementary students and the Friends nonprofit.
Sunny and Gizmo successfully fledged from the nest last year. Misty, however, did not survive the winter.
Friends of Big Bear Valley installed two cameras trained on the next in 2015 and have been monitoring the feeds since then. A devoted group of supporters has now reached 2.4 million followers on social media for the national birds.