Sister act: Big Bear bald eaglets Sunny and Gizmo are both female
After nearly three months of speculation, the experts have weighed in: Both eaglets at the Big Bear bald eagle nest are female.
Sunny and Gizmo are sisters, according to the organizations that operates the world-famous 24-hour camera feed of the nest near Big Bear Lake.
"Peaceful, loving sisters," added Friends of Big Bear Valley Executive Director Sandy Steers.
The naturalists announced last week that Gizmo was believed to be female, but Sunny's sex remained unclear until Saturday.
"After much observation and some fairly definitive vocal frequency analysis, we believe that even though Sunny, as the older one, is now smaller than Gizmo, she is also female," Steers said in an update posted to social media.
Despite being four days younger, Gizmo has outgrown Sunny in size.
Although now the smaller of the siblings, Sunny has led the way when it comes to exploring the branches surrounding the nest and experimenting with flight.
More: Fledge watch: Big Bear bald eaglets Sunny and Gizmo prepare to take first flights
She was seen taking to the air for a 3-second-long hover above the nest for the first time on Thursday.
Her flight testing grew bolder and Friday, when she was again spotted hovering above the nest and spreading her wings into the wind.
Bald eaglets generally leave the nest, or fledge, at 10 to 14 weeks of age, experts said.
At 12 weeks old, Sunny and Gizmo could each be ready to make their first flights away from the nest any time now.
But they won't immediately become strangers.
Eaglets tend to remain close to their nests for a month or two as they develop the skills they will need to survive on their own.
They young predators will then head out to establish their own homes, potentially hundreds or thousands of miles away from Big Bear.
They still have a long journey ahead of them, as bald eagles mature at a slow rate.
Sunny and Gizmo aren't expected to develop their iconic white heads, like their parents Jackie and Shadow, until they reach 4 or 5 years old.
More information on the Big Bear bald eagles and the Friends of Big Bear Valley is available on the organizations website at friendsofbigbearvalley.org.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Sister act: Big Bear bald eaglets Sunny and Gizmo are both female
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