Live Eagle Cam — Big Bear, California

spideyman

Big Bear Jackie and Shadow July 7

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

10h  · 

Hooray! They decided to come home!

Jackie and Shadow were both seen the evening of July 4 before sundown…then the fireworks show on Big Bear Lake happened…

It took 3 days, but Jackie and Shadow finally came back yesterday evening. For that time, we do not know where they went, but they were not seen on either camera nor around the lake by people who know where they usually hang out nor were any vocalizations heard from them. (Even though 3 days was hard to take, it was better than last year when they left for nearly 6 full days!)

Shadow showed up first in the early evening yesterday, hanging out on the roost tree. He was there for almost 2 hours, checking out the neighborhood, upsetting a raven or two by his presence, doing a little stretch yoga, and climbing up to his favorite sleeping spot to make sure everything was still in order. Jackie made herself known with a nearby chortle, like only Jackie can do…but she stayed well-hidden until later.

Shortly before sundown, Jackie finally showed herself as she and Shadow joined each other on their favorite perch tree, the Stick Depot Snag. They each moved, branch by branch, closer to each other on the tree until they were beak-to-beak. Apparently, they needed to have a little private conservation time. And after this sweet late-evening togetherness, they both took their place, side-by-side, on the sleeping branch of their favorite roost tree for the night.

Early this morning found Jackie and Shadow still together on their roost tree branch as they sang a beautiful chortling duet to welcome the morning and announce that they were glad to be home.

Yes, we, like many of you are very concerned about the impact that fireworks, especially in the middle of a National Forest, have on the surrounding wildlife and environment. Yes, we felt the worry when Jackie and Shadow chose to be away from their home territory for an extended period. And yes, we are very, very happy to see that they decided to return home!

For any of you who might be interested, we are gathering information on the intense and detrimental impact that fireworks have on wildlife, on the lake, on the environment in general and even on domestic animals and humans. If any of you have references to studies about any of this, please share them with us at fobbvinfo@gmail.com. Thank you!

And for today, let’s all celebrate that Jackie and Shadow are back home!

Sandy

not_nadine

Wonderful!  Watching the eaglets grow is so emotional.   When I followed a nest my heart was in my throat.  They come so so close to the edge.  Then they practice flapping lifting up a little.  Oh no don't fall!  The raptor resourse project tagged a few of them.  They are now all over the place.  Up in Canada from Iowa, back down, up again.  Heartbreaking when a few died from electrical wires.  They have now deactivated around the nest. 

It simply amazed me how they fed the babies.  Little tiny tiny bites of fish from a giant beak.
It used to upset me to see animals being brought to the nest, but I got used to it.  I still remember two eaglets eating the same squirrel tail and fighting over it. 
eek. One swallowed the whole thing down.  

Don't let me get started on the pig leg.   How??

spideyman

Evening July 10 Big Bear Lake

spideyman

This is the link for Season 11 in FL
Lots of memories and excellent info- enjoy.
https://forum.hancockwildlife.org/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=644&sid=3840f6df7e4d7cb3ef69354ebcf48c87

Hedda Gabler

Spidey I can’t remember if I read in an update or not— shadow and jackie won’t have any more eggs this season?  It’s too late now? 

spideyman

@Hedda Gabler
The egg laying season is well over. We await the next season this Fall. 

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

1d  · 

Blast from the past…

As Jackie and Shadow continue their summer staycation, we are bracing for a heatwave that will be coming to our area by the end this week. Unlike eagle pairs that live in other locations, Jackie and Shadow stick around their home base in summer, lounging in various spots around the lake. Big Bear has a mild alpine climate, so even though the daytime temperatures might sneak up into the 90s through the week, the nighttimes will still bring a nice reprieve down into the 50s. And, of course, the beautiful surrounding forest will provide plenty of shade in tall trees for the eagles.

Nestorations are just around the corner and we can’t wait to see what this fall brings for Jackie and Shadow! Meanwhile, we will keep catching glimpses of them on their favorite snags with the help of the new Wide View camera.

GNTLGNT

...."Nestoration"?....."Hey you kids! Get offa my limb!!".....

spideyman

Big Bear Lake-- July 19-- Jackie visits the nest/ together they watch their kingdom

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

2d  · 

No Vacancy...

While the eagles are away, the ravens will play!

2 adorable juvenile ravens visited the nest yesterday afternoon and boy did they have a lot to say. We can see a bit of pink on their gapes that tells us they hatched this year. The gape is the fleshy pink area at the base of their beaks. This family of ravens has been frequenting the basement of the nest tree this week and apparently their parents let them spread their wings and explore on their own… they even had the nerve to tinker with Shadow’s sticks!

Uh oh, a new life lesson for these youngsters…this pile of sticks isn’t a vacant playground and here comes one of the owners!

Jackie appeared out of nowhere, gliding gracefully with her landing gear down and ready. While keeping an eye on the ravens, she checked out the nest to make sure everything was still in the right place, and it was! Jackie also kept an eye on Shadow, he was over to the right, hunkered down in a nice shady perch tree overlooking the lake.

Jackie had a short conversation with ravens, probably making it clear this is her property and to keep their kids off her front porch! Once she left the nest, a quick flyby on cam 2 with Shadow in the background enjoying this quiet spot, where he relaxed for more than 3 hours… meanwhile, Jackie found a nice perch of her own in the evening sun with a view of the lake.

Once the sun had set, both eagles were spotted snuggled side by side, on a cozy branch in their favorite roost tree.

A great ending to a beautiful day!

spideyman

Big Bear Lake July 28

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

19h  · 

Some very welcome visits…

Jackie and Shadow each decided that they would take a little break from vacation time and let everyone know they are still around. It was apparently time to remind all the neighbors that this is their nest and they are the owners of this whole territory.

Shadow dropped in a couple days ago, with his requisite stick in tow. And in finding the proper home for that new stick, he couldn’t help but notice that other sticks had gotten sassy and moved to incorrect and obviously out of balance places in the nest. So, he immediately took the extra time and effort to rearrange them back to their appropriate locations. (We’d best not remind him that those silly raven youngsters had been in the nest messing with his sticks!) And then that was enough for one evening and it was back to vacation time.

Earlier that afternoon, a beautiful mule deer buck was spotted having some quiet time below the nest. We got his permission to include his video here…of course we warned him that lots of other animals may want his autograph after this.

By nightfall, Jackie and Shadow had both settled into their favorite roost tree. They spent the warm, cozy night snuggled side by side, reaffirming their bonded connection, even while on summer vacation.

Yesterday afternoon, Jackie dropped into the nest amidst lots of warning raven calls. They may have been trying to scare her away from their area…but it had no impact. Instead, she decided to stay for a while…a little over 3 hours while!

She apparently realized how much she missed just watching the neighborhood happenings, so she moved out to her best viewing spot on the front porch. As her neck-bending curiosity kicked in, she seemed to thoroughly enjoy everything she was watching. She even consented to some nice close-up views as she spent a bit of leisurely time preening out some old feathers—she of course has to make sure she’ll be beautiful by fall when her annual molting is complete.

Thank you for keeping up with Jackie and Shadow even as they are enjoying their summer break. They would like to announce that all of us can now relax—they heard that the Labor Day fireworks show planned for September in Big Bear Lake has been cancelled. Hooray!!

Sandy

Hedda Gabler

Yay!

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

5h  · 

Between every two pines there is a doorway to a new world. - John Muir

On the first Sunday of August we celebrate National Tree Day and recognize the importance of trees for Jackie and Shadow and myriads of ecosystem inhabitants - animals, plants and all other organisms forming our bubble of life.

Trees play a vital role in everyday eagle life. Eagles’ favorite pastime is perching and observing their surroundings, watching the fish swim by and people drive by. For this activity, that encompasses most of their day, they rely on tall prominent trees with lots of convenient landing space and great vantage points - snags (trees with dead tops) or dead trees are the best for that as they are void of foliage. As night falls, they seek shelter in more secluded roosting trees that provide protection from the elements and curious owls. For nesting they typically choose the tallest tree that allows them to keep an eye on their favorite fishing spots and the rest of the territory.

Our nest is built about 145 feet above ground in a Jeffrey Pine tree, one of the tallest in the area. It was started by the previous pair of nesting eagles, known as Ricky and Lucy (believed to be Jackie’s parents) in the fall of 2011. Jackie (hatched in 2012) took over the nesting territory in 2016 and Shadow established his presence in 2018.

Observations from our live cameras show that Jackie and Shadow can bring to the nest something between 600-900 sticks per year. Such remarkable dedication turned a small postmark-sized nest into a huge comfortable condo - over 5 ½ feet wide and 6 feet deep.

The picture below is a composite showing how our nest has changed over the years. The lake level has undergone some dramatic changes too! Our lake is 100% rain and snowmelt fed and may fluctuate considerably depending on annual precipitation.

Nest building is an essential part of the bonding process for the eagles. Nest fidelity and diligence - and lots of bonding practice over the years - result in really humongous dwellings built by these compulsive nest builders. One eagle pair from St. Petersburg, Florida proudly established the Guinness World Record for the largest bird nest in 1963. Some eagle pairs are known to build multiple nests in their territories - sometimes up to 6 nests, sometimes multiple nests in the same tree. In fact, Ricky and Lucy had already started building the current nest before the one that Jackie was raised in fell down from all of Jackie’s intense pre-fledge bouncing and a big wind storm following her fledging.

Jackie and Shadow took note of that eagle fact and started bringing sticks to a nearby snag. We noticed this activity for the first time last October, after we installed the new Wide View camera. From the looks of it, stick shenanigans on the aptly named Stick Depot Snag have been going on for much longer.

Fall is fast approaching and we are patiently waiting for Jackie and Shadow to return to the nest around mid-October (based on previous history). Meanwhile we will keep our talons crossed for surprise bonus visits!

Learn more about the Big Bear eagle history here: https://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/eagles/eagle-history/

Cali

spideyman

August 15

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

5h  · 

Protecting Jackie and Shadow…

Jackie and Shadow have continued spending most of their days hanging out somewhere around the lake, enjoying their summer vacation. Sometimes we see them passing through as they stop by one or two of their favorite nesting area perch trees.

Jackie did stop by the nest a few days ago for a short visit. She checked around inside the nest to make sure everything was in order and scanned the neighborhood to check that those ravens weren’t getting out of line. Unlike when Shadow visits, Jackie wasn’t called to move any sticks around—apparently, the nest sticks are being well-behaved for a change.

Even though their nest visits have been infrequent, Jackie and Shadow have often been spending the night together at their favorite roost tree that is just a short distance from the nest. Usually, they are on the same limb snuggled up together, but one night they slept in separate bedrooms, with one of them a couple limbs higher than the other.

While Shadow and Jackie are on summer break, we’ve been working hard. A few weeks ago, the Forest Service signed final approval for the North Big Bear Landscape Restoration project that we’ve mentioned here before. This 20-year project proposes massive tree and brush removal on 13,000 acres across the entire north side of Big Bear Valley. After detailed review of their proposal documents, we submitted comments and sent objections regarding the inaccuracies and insufficiencies of their environmental review and plan. Over 1000 of you also submitted comments and objections! (Thank you very much to all who took the time to do that!!). We also pointed out that a project of this magnitude and significant impact requires, by law, that an Environmental Impact Statement be prepared.

The Forest Service did defer the portion of the project set to create 47 miles of new trails and add e-bikes to all trails. But they completely ignored all comments and corrections of inaccuracies on the main portion of the plan and signed the final project approval with the completely false statement that the project would cause “no significant impact.”

Both our federal and state environmental laws are written so that when the laws are being broken by an agency, the only way for the public to enforce these laws is through legal action. Since the Forest Service is clearly breaking the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, Friends of Big Bear Valley, along with John Muir Project and the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, has filed a legal complaint with the court. We sent out a press release with the details regarding why this action was necessary, and I’ve included it in the photos of this post to fill you in on the details.

This enforcement process is expensive for us to cover,

We are very grateful for any and all support and every bit of it goes a long way to helping us protect Jackie and Shadow, their habitat and all of the nature around them! Legal actions are usually a very slow process, but we will keep you posted on any updates going forward. If you have any questions, you can contact us at fobbvinfo@gmail.com .

Thank you very much for all of your continued support of every kind. And for your love of Jackie and Shadow!

Sandy

spideyman

Meanwhile in  FL... "progress"  ( a car wash!) neglects the needs of wildlife. Construction has begun and nesting season starts late Sept- Oct. 1
  

This ia an established nest!
Here are the laws
https://www.fws.gov/story/do-i-need-eagle-take-permit

spideyman

News from FL..... 38 days til Season 12 begins- Oct 1.

This info from above Pritchett live cam.
"Thank you to all who joined us for Season 11. M15 and a new female have been spotted in the nest. Stay tuned here on updates around Season 12. 12 hours ago "


M 15



M15 on left--- female  on right




Female

Hedda Gabler

Spidey, did the storm affect the big bear eagles? Any chat on that?  I look at the nest daily and things seem to be good but I never catch a glimpse of the couple. 

spideyman

Hedda Gabler said:

Spidey, did the storm affect the big bear eagles? Any chat on that?  I look at the nest daily and things seem to be good but I never catch a glimpse of the couple. 

Since the storm I've caught on live cam separately.  Long shot view so unable to tell which one. Evening after the  storm in pine tree/ next day in roost tree.  Long view usually scans at noonish their time. 

Hedda Gabler

Thanks!

spideyman

FL-- M working on Nest

spideyman

One of the Big Bear Eagles in Pine  Aug 24   16:30 their time. *scan left from "watch later" after sunrays.

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

17h  · 

We’re here!

Jackie and Shadow’s appearances on camera have been a bit sparse this past week, often with only 1 of them seen at a time…until last night.

Starting in the late evening, they snuggled the night together on the same limb of their favorite roost tree, and were still side-by-side early this morning. After being quiet about it all night, they apparently decided that they should make a bigger deal of their presence…so they put out a full announcement to the neighborhood! Jackie started it, but Shadow quickly chimed in and happily had the last word.

spideyman

After Hurricane Idalia update...
A chat member was at the nest yesterday and this morning too. M15 and his lady were seen in nest tree. Then flew off.
The nest is still there and the tree stands tall.



Big Bear Aug 29

spideyman

Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam

1d  · 

Hello from our roost tree…

Jackie and Shadow have been spending a few nights a week at their nearby roost tree, and visible to the camera in the late evenings and early mornings. They were there yesterday morning and, as usual, chortled out a sweet little duet before they headed out for their daily adventures. They were also there both morning and evening the day before yesterday and the day before that. Tonight, with some local rain, they chose some other sheltered place to spend the night, but they did chortle out to the neighborhood an announcement that they are in the area.

For anyone who may not have received our latest newsletter by mail or email, I’ve posted it here. If you would like to be on the list to receive one, please send either your email or mailing address to fobbvinfo@gmail.com and ask to be added.

Please note that we have opened up applications again for adding a few more amazing team members to FOBBV. We are seeking very special people (preferrably ones who adore Jackie and Shadow!) to help us with communications, our website and our stories. If you would like more information, please contact us at fobbvinfo@gmail.com for details.

As we have mentioned, we gave a presentation to the Visit Big Bear board of directors regarding the devastating impacts that fireworks cause to wildlife, the environment and humans. By request, we’ve made that presentation public at this link, in case any of you would like to see the information or use it for talking to people in your area. https://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/presentations/

After our presentation, Visit Big Bear cancelled the fireworks show that had been planned for this weekend to celebrate Labor Day. We would like to acknowledge and thank them very much for cancelling this show! And we would encourage all of you to also thank them by leaving them a lovely comment on their FB page Labor Day post (right at the top of their page): https://www.facebook.com/VisitBigBear

We will be running some tests on our eagle cameras over the next few days, so the live stream may be up and down a bit. But the cameras will be back on line quickly for you to keep your eye out for our favorite bald eagle couple.

Jackie and Shadow and FOBBV wish you all a beautiful and fun holiday weekend! Thank you for tuning in.

Sandy