Gemini Rising

Big Bear Eagles & Update & A new Eagle Couple!

EAGLET UPDATE from BIG BEAR:

Well, here's Shadow hanging out with his Eaglet Mini Me:

Well the video I shared was marked private, so I'm taking it off the link.
Sorry guys.

Big Eaglet showing off his wings:
Go here: https://www.facebook.com/FOBBV/videos/1411918359961005

The eaglets have gotten much bigger from last week. Looks like it's a nice sunny day. Curious about eagles now I did a little research. Eagles for the most part, pretty much mate for life, but if one dies, believe me, they'll find another mate. And sometimes, a male will even kick out another male. Let's just say Shadow is Alpha Male.

According to Friends of Big Bear, Jackie was hatched in 2012 in Big Bear. Her parents were Ricky and Lucy.

From a USA today 2023 article:

Big Bear resident Sandy Steers lives half a mile from where Jackie was born and watched her grow up from a distance.

"You could see her practicing flying, you could see them (Lucy and Ricky) bringing her food," Steers said. "I stood there for hours every day just watching because I was fascinated. That got me hooked and then I just wanted to see more."



Steers eventually raised 10K for an eagle cam and kept it trained on Jackie. In 2017, she had her first romance with an Eagle named Mr. B. They had a couple of eaglets, but then a new eagle came to town.

Shadow came to Big Bear in 2018 and chased off Mr. B. (guess Mr. B was a whimp as an eagle?)

How does an Eagle mate? It's kinda awkward if you ask me. I suppose there has to be some eagle attraction going on, but the male gets on the female's back and they jiggle and after a couple of seconds it's done. Finding a good mate usually happens in the fall and then the couple start nest building in Dec and Jan.

According to the USA Today article, Jackie is the BOSS. She's determined, serious and expects gets her way. She's bigger than Shadow (females eagles usually are) and is the main defender. Shadow stands up to Jackie from time and time and Jackie seems to like that, according to article.

Jackie and Shadow had eggs hatch in 2019, 2022, and 2025.

I've also included a link to a history of Jackie and Shadow.

What's next for Jackie, Shadow & Eaglets? Well, I guess the eaglet have to get bigger so they can "fledge" which is basically learn to fly. The Eaglets will be in the next for about 11-12 before they get their juvenile feather and start to "fledge."

AND I FOUND A NEW EAGLE COUPLE!!

This couple is on 2 Harbors, Catalina Island. They're called Chase and Cholyn. They're an older couple, about 27 years. They've laid of couple of eggs and we're just watching for the eggs to hatch. Here's the time line:

3/9: Laid first egg. Expected hatch around 4/15.

3/13: Laid second egg around 21:16. Expected hatch 4/18.

There's not a lot of video on these guys - there is a live cam, but I couldn't find many video snippets. I'm on eagle watch for the eggs though...



References:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/animalkind/2023/03/05/big-bear-bald-eagle-li...
https://journeynorth.org/tm/eagle/annual/facts_fledglings.html
https://www.facebook.com/FOBBV