BIG BEAR VALLEY, Calif. (KTLA) — Tens of thousands have been glued to their computers and mobile devices hoping to catch the first stages of hatching as three eagle eggs in California’s Big Bear Valley approach the end of incubation.
The famous bald eagle couple, Jackie and Shadow, laid the eggs in late January, reports Nexstar’s KTLA. The typical incubation period for an eagle egg is 35 days with the hatching process taking 1 to 3 days from start to finish, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV).
The first of three eggs is unlikely to hatch at this point, an expert said Thursday.
“For the first egg we’re just past 38 days … so that first egg is probably not viable,” Big Bear eagle expert Sandy Steers said in an interview with Nexstar’s KTLA.
The other two eggs are still within the window of possibility, Steers said. “We have to watch and see. Nature doesn’t announce ahead of time what it’s gonna do and we have to be patient.”
“At this time in the hatching process, it can be very emotional. I know everyone is on the edge of their seats wanting answers,” an Instagram post from jackie.shadow_bbl.
“[Friends of Big Bear Valley] still has not confirmed a PIP. All I can do is remind everyone that we are just observers of nature and nature can be beautiful and brutal and the outcome, whatever it may be, is out of our control,” the post went on to say.
FOBBV has two live webcams (a nest cam and a wide view cam) on YouTube for fans to follow this year’s journey to parenthood for Jackie and Shadow.
Steers said the eagles themselves would let watchers know how long the remaining eggs are viable.
“Jackie and Shadow will let us know when to give up. They will start giving up themselves and leaving the nest for longer periods of time,” Steers said.
FOBBV announced the beginning of pip watch on Feb. 29 on its Instagram page.
Pip refers to the holes a chick pokes in the egg when it’s getting ready to emerge.
“When a hole is poked through an egg’s membrane it is called the internal pip, and when a hole is pecked through the egg shell it is called the external pip,” journeynorth.org posted on its website.
The couple’s nest is located in Big Bear Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains and is about 145 feet up in a Jeffrey Pine tree.
Watchers can tell the bald eagles apart because Jackie is larger and her beak is both longer and thicker than Shadow’s.
FOBBV stated on its website that it is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
“We protect and preserve our amazing natural surroundings through environmental education and advocacy about its value and community benefit,” the website says.
