Show Caption
Big Bear Valley's infamous eagles Jackie and Shadow are back to routine after temporarily leaving their nest with the eaglets sleeping in it as the Fourth of July celebrations and fireworks began in the area."Shadow, Jackie, or both evidently flew at the onset of the fireworks as there were no eagles seen this morning in that area," Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV), a nonprofit that monitors the birds, said in a July 5 Facebook post, adding the two bald eagles "were likely roosting in their favorite roost tree near the nest."Their eaglets Luna and Sandy, however, stayed behind in the nest and appeared to be unbothered by the fireworks, though they did wake up to the sound of the booms, FOBBV said."Sandy and Luna were alert to the fireworks but didn’t seem to react much other than to remain still for a bit," the post said.Family now back to routineThey were fortunately still in the nest the next morning and were treated to fish by Shadow."Both had breakfast and flew out to explore the habitat," Friends of Big Bear Valley said. "Jackie showed up later in the morning on the twin pines overlooking the lake and relaxing.""We are so thankful to see our eagle family back to their daily routines," it added.Friends of Big Bear Valley opposes Fourth of July fireworksBig Bear Valley's Fourth of July fireworks show has long been a heated topic of conversation, with Friends of Big Bear Valley petitioning Big Bear Lake City to cancel the fireworks show over concerns that it is dangerous for the eagle family, especially since the eaglets were beginning to wingersize and preparing for flight.Ahead of the celebrations, the Friends of Big Bear Valley said they contacted city officials and stated their opposition to this year's planned fireworks show."We sent a letter explaining our position, that we were against the fireworks, and one was sent back to us stating that they would proceed as planned but that they were using the quietest fireworks possible," a spokesperson for the group, Jenny Voisard, told USA TODAY in June. "All we can do is hope the impact is minimal. They have done drone shows in the past, but that is not what they want to do now."The Friends of Big Bear Valley, in a July 4 Facebook post, also expressed concern, saying they don't know how Sandy and Luna would react."We do hope that Jackie and Shadow will stay nearby to care for them. At this time, we can only hope for peace, comfort, strength, courage, sending positive energy and prayers for our eagle family."The eaglets had just taken their first flights in the week before the holiday weekend and were spotted in nearby trees. The two chicks fledged the nest, with Luna taking his "leap of faith" and flying from the nest on June 29 at 9:24 a.m. local time, according to the Friends of Big Bear Valley and the Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam's Facebook page.A petition urging Big Bear's leadership to reconsider its annual Independence Day celebration was also initiated and has to date garnered more than 45,000 signatures. The Friends of Big Bear Valley is not affiliated with the petition.Show goes onVisit Big Bear, the tourism board that oversees the annual July Fourth celebration, addressed the controversy in a statement, citing the event’s economic impact on local businesses and a particularly slow tourism year."The fireworks show is a long-standing community tradition and an important economic driver for Big Bear’s local businesses, workers, restaurants, lodging properties, recreation providers, and families," Visit Big Bear stated. "That context is especially important this year after another low-to-no snow winter, which directly impacted many of our neighbors, employees, and small businesses."The tourism board added it would be taking several measures to mitigate the risk to Jackie, Shadow, and their eaglets, including limiting the show to under 30 minutes, "working with the fireworks provider to reduce the loudest booms where possible," and launching the pyrotechnics off a barge two miles from the eagle family’s nesting area.Contributing: Drew Pittock, Rene Ray De La Cruz / USA TODAY NETWORKSaman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@usatodayco.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
