Pair of Big Bear bald eagle eggs show signs of hatching

Friends of Big Bear Valley, a nonprofit that operates two web cams to capture the goings-on in the nest, announced Monday, March 3, that it discovered two of the three eggs welcomed this year by Big Bear bald eagle pair Jackie and Shadow have pipped.

At 7:59 a.m. Monday, one of the web cams captured images showing a second egg had pipped, or cracked as part of the hatching process, some 18 hours after signs that the first egg had pipped. By midday Monday there was no sign the third egg had pipped.

Jackie and Shadow’s last chick, Spirit, pipped three years ago Sunday.

The eagle cam zooms in showing that two of the three eggs have begun to hatch as Jackie turns the eggs on Monday, March 3, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy of Friends of Big Bear Valley)

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The eagle cam zooms in showing that two of the three eggs have begun to hatch as Jackie turns the eggs on Monday, March 3, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy of Friends of Big Bear Valley)

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In a social media post, Friends of Big Bear Valley urged excited fans of the bald eagles to be patient with the pipping process. It may take a day or two for a chick to fully emerge from its shell, the nonprofit said.

Hundreds of thousands of people watch the nonprofit’s live stream of the eagles’ nest each year. On social media Monday, fans cheered as “pip watch” continued, hoping for a successful hatching process this year. None of Jackie’s and Shadow’s offspring have survived the past two years.

“After last year’s heartbreak, this is so beautiful to witness!” one commenter wrote on the nonprofit’s Facebook page Monday morning. “Jackie and Shadow deserve it, they are such a devoted eagle family!”