We have a crack! See one of Jackie and Shadow’s eggs begin to hatch.
A live feed from the Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear captured one of Jackie and Shadow’s eggs beginning to hatch.
There’s about to be a new baby in Jackie and Shadow’s nest!
One of the eggs that the famous California bald eagle couple has been guarding this season is in the process of hatching, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit group monitoring a live feed of the birds.
In a Facebook post on Friday, April 3, the organization said that in the afternoon and evening of April 2, as well as throughout the night, little chirps were heard from the nest, indicating one of the chicks could “break the internal membrane and (take) its first breath of air.”
Later on Friday, a chick could be seen moving inside the egg through what looked to be a roughly nickel-sized opening just before one of the eagles hunkered back down on top of it.
Jackie and Shadow have one other chick that hasn’t hatched yet, but it also should be due any day.
Footage posted by the nonprofit earlier on April 3 showed a small crack in the egg but no opening. It can take an between 24 to 48 hours for a chick to exit its shell after it first cracks.
“It’s getting egg-citing!!,” the nonprofit said. “Thank you for being with us on this amazing journey!”
Jackie and Shadow rebound from tragic loss
Jackie and Shadow have been guarding the eggs for more than a month. In January, the couple lost their first clutch of eggs laid during the 2025-2026 breeding season after ravens breached their nest.
But the couple managed to try again. Jackie laid the current eggs on Feb. 24 and Feb. 27.
The couple became famous during the 2017-2018 mating season through their 24-hour livestream nest cam overlooking Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains.
The couple had their first chick, Spirit, in 2022, and in 2025 had a pair of eaglets, Sunny and Gizmo.
Watch the livestream below
The livestream of the birds is available to watch on the Friends of Big Bear Valley website.
Contributing: Amanda Lee Myers
