BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. - Every morning with her first cup of coffee and every night before she goes to bed, Roslyn Ward of Australia checks on a family of bald eagles more than 7,500 miles away in California.
Like millions of other people across the U.S. and the world, Ward is glued to the YouTube channel that streams the bald eagles live 24/7 from their nest in Big Bear Lake, a small mountain community 100 miles east of Los Angeles.
"I'm basically on the other side of the world but I tell everybody about them," said Ward, 75, who lives in a suburb of Sydney. "I show them clips and I'll say, 'Have a look at this, see how much the chicks have grown.' People think I'm nuts."
From Kissimmee, Florida, to Wellington, New Zealand, fans are riveted by Jackie and Shadow, the bald eagle couple of Big Bear Lake. People don't just simply enjoy watching Jackie and Shadow as they reinforce their nest, sit on their eggs, soar home with a fresh catch of fish, and feed their eaglets.
For many, it's far deeper.
