
Big Bear eaglet takes flight from nest in California
At about 10:46 a.m., one of the eaglets was perched on a branch when she appeared to jump off, flap her wings and fly away. Friends of Big Bear Valley Executive Director Sandy Steers told KCAL News on Monday that it was Sunny who left the nest, while Gizmo stayed behind.
"I feel elated that Sunny made it and is flying and is successful," Steers said.
It's not yet clear where Sunny flew off too, but young eagles oftentimes return to the nest relatively quickly after their first flight, Steers said.
The eaglets were born in March and are around 12 weeks old, making it prime-fledging time. Viewers of the Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam have been anticipating the moment when eaglets Sunny and Gizmo would brave flight. "Fledge watch" began around May 13, as bald eagles are between 10 to 12 weeks old when they leave their nest.
One of the Big Bear eaglets appeared to take flight around 10:46 a.m. on Monday.
Friends of Big Bear Valley
Sunny's flight on Monday was the result of days of practice.
Friends of Big Bear Valley noted on Facebook posts that the pair had been flapping and jumping, preparing for their flight as they stood on the outer rails of their nest.
"The birds show signs of flight as they start flapping their wings hard and fast enough to feel their feet lift slightly off the nest. They will then likely start venturing out onto the outer branches of the nest tree and also practice there," FOBBV wrote on Facebook. Once confident, they will take off, likely near a perch tree where Jackie and Shadow have been hanging out.
As of Monday, Gizmo was yet to leave the nest with her sister. Steers said Gizmo was slower developing than Sunny, so it's not yet clear if she'll be ready in the next few days.
What's next for the eaglets?
Gizmo and Sunny were both determined to be female, based on quick growth. Both will remain in the habitat for one to three months after fledging, and FOBBV said they will likely be in and out of the nest during this time.
"By fall, they will take off on their own. Since they aren't banded, we will have no way to know if they stay together, or for how long," FOBBV wrote on Facebook. It is also not known if they will recognize each other. The organization noted that there is some evidence that bald eagles can memorize, but there have not been any specific studies to verify that information.
Most eagles reach maturity around 5 years old, with a white head and tail and bright yellow beaks and eyes.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Wall Street Journal
32 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
How I Conquered ‘Kindergarten Panic' in the Era of School Choice
When I was growing up in the Sacramento suburbs in the 1990s, kindergarten enrollment involved very little decision-making. My mother simply sent us to the elementary school closest to home. Now as a parent in Los Angeles, I discovered that finding a kindergarten is anything but simple.


New York Times
32 minutes ago
- New York Times
Come for the Chicken and Zucchini, Stay for the Charred Scallion Salsa
Good morning! Today we have for you: A skillet chicken dinner that uses up some zucchini A soy-butter corn ramen that needs only five ingredients And, a giant peppermint patty I know there are some heavy-hitter ingredients in Colu Henry's skillet chicken and zucchini with charred scallion salsa — the chicken and the zucchini — but bear with me as I focus on those scallions. My fridge feels empty without at least two bunches of pert green onions stashed in the crisper. They last a good while and they're so versatile, providing a variety of flavors and textures. To wit: Soft and sweet in caramelized-scallion sauce Sharp and crisp in pa muchim Bright and pungent in quick pastas Crispy and wispy atop glazed eggplant Lately I've been into charring my scallions, which gives them a pleasant smokiness. And once you've charred a (literal) bunch of scallions, you can do so many things with them. Stir them into a dip! Make them into a pasta! Use them as a base for a chimichurri situation or, as Colu does above, for a fast and easy salsa with cilantro, jalapeño and lime juice. This glorious green concoction perks up summer's sweet zucchini and seared, skin-on chicken breasts, and I bet it would be good on lots of other things, too: grilled salmon, crispy tofu, shrimp tacos. As I said: Scallions! Featured Recipe View Recipe → Soy-butter corn ramen: I tumbled down a rabbit hole of Hokkaido food videos the other day (as one does). The region's famous miso butter corn ramen made me think of this super-quick Hetty Lui McKinnon recipe, which hits many of the same notes: curly noodles, sweet corn and a good dose of umami from the soy sauce and the butter. I bet adding a little miso in Step 3 would work out quite nicely. Miso-grilled shrimp with corn and shishito peppers: Speaking of corn and miso, here's a new recipe from Ali Slagle that reads like a summer cooking to-do list. Make extra for excellent midweek rice bowls. Chocolate mint tart: The way I am a sucker for any treat that's a jumbo-size version of something small (see: Melissa Clark's giant jam bun; Sohla El-Waylly's giant almond croissant). Yossy Arefi has made for us, essentially, a giant peppermint patty, and I can't imagine a more elegantly refreshing dessert. If you're a frequent reader of The Veggie, you know that Tanya Sichynsky is very good at pairing specific cooking needs (what to do with a lot of kale; what to serve a group with wildly varying dietary needs) with specific vegetarian recipes. And now you can be a frequent viewer of The Veggie, too: We have a new video series in which Tanya answers common reader questions with her characteristic Tanya flair. Click here or below to watch her tackle what to feed a meat-and-potatoes partner: Thanks for reading!


Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Cancer vaccine shows promise in preventing recurrence of pancreatic, colorectal tumors
An experimental cancer vaccine has shown promise in keeping certain cancers from coming back. In a phase 1 clinical trial led in part by the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, researchers tested the vaccine (ELI-002 2P) with 25 patients who had been treated for pancreatic and colorectal cancer. The patients had all undergone surgery to remove tumors and showed "signs of minimal residual disease" or traces of DNA, putting them at a high risk of recurrence, according to a UCLA press release. More than 80% of pancreatic cancer patients experience recurrence of the disease after surgery, research shows — and for 40% to 50%, this happens within the first year. For colorectal cancer, the recurrence rate is between 30% and 50% and is most likely to occur within the first two years after surgery. Mutations in the KRAS gene are responsible for half of colorectal cancers and more than 90% of pancreatic cancers. The vaccine, which targets those mutations, was given via a series of injections to activate an immune response in the lymph nodes. A majority (21 out of 25) of the patients generated "KRAS-specific T cells," which indicates a stronger immune response. The ones with higher T-cell responses showed a longer relapse-free survival compared to those with lower responses, the researchers found. For three colorectal cancer patients and three pancreatic cancer patients, the vaccine appeared to remove all disease biomarkers. Among the patients who showed the strongest immune response, a majority were still cancer-free nearly 20 months after receiving the vaccine. The findings were published in Nature Medicine. "This is an exciting advance for patients with KRAS-driven cancers, particularly pancreatic cancer, where recurrence after standard treatment is almost a given and effective therapies are limited," said first author of the study, Zev Wainberg, M.D., professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and researcher in the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, in the release. "We observed that patients who developed strong immune responses to the vaccine remained disease-free and survived for much longer than expected." "The new cancer vaccine from UCLA is very promising as a major tool against these cancers." In another finding, 67% of the patients in the trial showed immune responses to "additional tumor-associated mutations," indicating that the vaccine could be used to suppress "broader anti-tumor activity." One of the benefits of ELI-002 2P, according to the researchers, is that it's considered "off-the-shelf," which means it's a mass-produced, standardized vaccine that doesn't have to be personalized for each individual patient. "This study shows that the ELI-002 2P vaccine can safely and effectively train the immune system to recognize and fight cancer-driving mutations," Wainberg said. "It offers a promising approach to generating precise and durable immune responses without the complexity or cost of fully personalized vaccines." The team has already finished enrolling participants for a phase 2 study that will test ELI-002 7P, the next iteration of the vaccine that will target a "broader set" of KRAS mutations, the release stated. The study was sponsored and funded by Elicio Therapeutics, the Massachusetts company that developed the vaccine. It was conducted in conjunction with the MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, was not involved in the study but commented that targeted therapies are becoming increasingly important tools in the fight against cancer. "Solid tumors, especially pancreatic, can be difficult to treat because they are not as mutagenic (capable of inducing or causing mutations) as hematological malignancies (blood cancers) or melanoma, for example, so they don't have as many ready targets for immunotherapy," he told Fox News Digital. For more Health articles, visit "The new cancer vaccine from UCLA is very promising as a major tool against these cancers, as it 'programs' the immune system to target these mutations and has been shown in the NATURE study to elicit a strong clinical response."