Both eggs belonging to bald eagle couple Jackie and Shadow look to be hatching.
One of the eggs the famous California birds were protecting began to show signs of hatching on April 3. Then on April 4, the chick "popped its head out of the shell to say a happy hatch day to mom and dad," said Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit group that erected and monitors the Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam, a live feed of the birds on Facebook.
While that egg "is still in the process of hatching, it is not considered hatched until (the chick) is completely free of the egg shell," the group noted. Some activity was seen with the other egg as "it also appears that the second egg has a pip," the first obvious crack in the shell, the group said. "It is not well defined as of this morning, but we will likely see more progress throughout the day."
The potential for two eaglets would be a satisfying result for Jackie and Shadow, who lost their first clutch of eggs laid during the 2025-2026 breeding season in January after ravens breached their nest.
They have been guarding this pair of eggs for more than a month after Jackie laid them Feb. 24 and Feb. 27.
