Southern California's celebrity eagles Jackie and Shadow welcome new egg after ravens destroy first clutch

Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times on Feb 25, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — An egg-citing plot twist has emerged in what’s already been an eventful nesting season for Big Bear’s celebrity bald eagle couple

Jackie laid an egg on Tuesday afternoon, offering new hope for babies this year after a previous clutch was eaten by ravens.

Before the egg arrived, just shy of 2:30 p.m., Jackie spent much of the day on the nest and “pancaked” for longer periods of time, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, a nonprofit that operates a camera trained on the nest.

Pancaking is when a female eagle lies down flat in the bowl of the nest to test and shape it — and can signal eggs are nigh.

As she pancaked, her wings began to spread, revealing more of the upper part of her white tail. Her eyes looked sleepy.

“These are the first signs she will likely be laying an egg,” Friends of Big Bear Valley wrote in a Facebook post.

As labor continued, she got into a squatting position; she let out some squeals and her tail flapped.

“She roused her feathers and soon after, more tea kettle whistles came,” the nonprofit wrote in the post. A close watch of the recap video shows her body tense up as she pushes out the egg.

It was a triumphant moment for the eagles’ legions of fans who have withstood tragedy in recent weeks. The nonprofit’s post announcing the new egg garnered 62,000 likes.

After bonding and mating, the couple welcomed their first egg this season on Jan. 23. Three days later, a second arrived.

But days later the eagle pair left the nest unattended. While they were out, ravens swooped in and devoured the eggs.

Not long after, a key figure in the eagles’ relationship with the public, Sandy Steers, passed away after a private battle with cancer. Steers, 73, was executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley.

Steers had long fought gated housing planned in an area less than a mile from the eagles’ nest. Shortly after her death, the nonprofit announced an effort to raise $10 million to buy the land.

Since the eagle couple’s eggs were destroyed, fans have watched hopefully and nervously to see if more would come.

The eagles were bonding and mating — all positive signs — but nothing was guaranteed.

“Jumping for joy,” one Facebook commenter said after the news broke. She said she would lobby for the eaglet to be called Sandy, after the late director, if the name hasn’t been used already.

Jackie and Shadow’s new clutch may not be complete. Jackie typically lays two to three eggs per clutch, generally three days apart. So eagle fans will be watching closely on Friday.

For now, the couple is dealing with the latest addition to the nest. After Jackie laid the egg, Shadow arrived with a coot — a water bird. Though typically ravenous, Jackie didn’t partake.

Eventually Jackie got up, revealing the egg, and Shadow took a gander.

“He may have thought at that point, Oh my, she laid an egg and I ate her dinner!” the nonprofit wrote in its characteristic whimsical style.

Shadow went and out came back later with some fluff — soft material like pine needles, moss or grass — to warm and cushion the egg. After hanging around for a bit, he headed out to roost and Jackie got some shut-eye.