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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Big Bear eaglet Sunny flies the nest. See the bittersweet moment
First she hovered, and now she's flown! Eaglet Sunny stretched her wings on Monday and flew out of the family nest for the first time, thrilling fans of the live webcam that monitors the Big Bear family of eagles that includes mom Jackie, dad Shadow and sibling Gizmo. Video showed that, as the eaglet took off at 10:46 a.m., Gizmo's head swiveled, monitoring as Sunny fledged, or made an inaugural flight from the nest. "It's exciting to have this beautiful, successful moment — and, at the same time, sad that we won't be seeing her as much anymore," said Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that operates the 24-hour nest cam. "Its great that she's successfully flown the nest." Sometimes when eaglets fly the nest, they don't return, Steers told The Times in an earlier interview. But Sunny didn't go far. Later Monday morning, one of the camera operators found the eaglet perching at the top of a tree nearby the 145-foot-tall Jeffrey pine that holds the family's huge nest. What happens next for newly independent Sunny? Parents Jackie and Shadow, will be following the eaglet around, protecting her and helping her find food for anywhere between a few weeks and a few months, Steers said. Eagles don't reach sexual maturity until they're around 4 or 5 years old. The first year of life can be perilous for an eagle. Thanks to its inexperience, a juvenile bald eagle has less than a 50% chance of surviving, according to the American Eagle Foundation. If they survive, they can live 15 to 30 years in the wild. Meanwhile, Gizmo will be turning 13 weeks old on Saturday and hasn't taken off yet. Eaglets usually fledge at 10 to 14 weeks of age. Up until Monday, both eaglets had been practicing venturing out onto tree limbs, where they would flap their wings and bounce. They'd also tried hovering — which happens when an eaglet catches the wind at just the right moment and it takes their body off the ground, but they don't fully leave the nest. Sunny is the fourth eaglet from Jackie and Shadow that has fledged. Three have fledged since the camera was installed, according to Steers, which she said is par for the course. The webcam was installed in 2015 and recorded its first nesting season in 2017. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Big Bear eaglet Sunny flies the nest. See the bittersweet moment
First she hovered, and now she's flown! Eaglet Sunny stretched her wings on Monday and flew out of the family nest for the first time, thrilling fans of the live webcam that monitors the Big Bear family of eagles that includes mom Jackie, dad Shadow and sibling Gizmo. Video showed that, as the eaglet took off at 10:46 a.m., Gizmo's head swiveled, monitoring as Sunny fledged, or made an inaugural flight from the nest. 'It's exciting to have this beautiful, successful moment — and, at the same time, sad that we won't be seeing her as much anymore,' said Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that operates the 24-hour nest cam. 'Its great that she's successfully flown the nest.' Sometimes when eaglets fly the nest, they don't return, Steers told The Times in an earlier interview. But Sunny didn't go far. Later Monday morning, one of the camera operators found the eaglet perching at the top of a tree nearby the 145-foot-tall Jeffrey pine that holds the family's huge nest. What happens next for newly independent Sunny? Parents Jackie and Shadow, will be following the eaglet around, protecting her and helping her find food for anywhere between a few weeks and a few months, Steers said. Eagles don't reach sexual maturity until they're around 4 or 5 years old. The first year of life can be perilous for an eagle. Thanks to its inexperience, a juvenile bald eagle has less than a 50% chance of surviving, according to the American Eagle Foundation. If they survive, they can live 15 to 30 years in the wild. Meanwhile, Gizmo will be turning 13 weeks old on Saturday and hasn't taken off yet. Eaglets usually fledge at 10 to 14 weeks of age. Up until Monday, both eaglets had been practicing venturing out onto tree limbs, where they would flap their wings and bounce. They'd also tried hovering — which happens when an eaglet catches the wind at just the right moment and it takes their body off the ground, but they don't fully leave the nest. Sunny is the fourth eaglet from Jackie and Shadow that has fledged. Three have fledged since the camera was installed, according to Steers, which she said is par for the course. The webcam was installed in 2015 and recorded its first nesting season in 2017.
Los Angeles Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Big Bear eaglets Sunny and Gizmo get ready to test their wings
Fans of Big Bear's bald eagle family — stars of their own webcam reality show — watched over the winter as parents Jackie and Shadow finally welcomed offspring to the nest after several previous attempts led to heartbreak. Now, in just 2½ months, their eaglets have sprouted up. Time flies — and, any day now, so will Sunny and Gizmo. The birds are expected to fledge, or fly for the first time, between 10 and 14 weeks of age. Sunny turned 10 weeks old on Tuesday, and Gizmo hits that mark on Saturday. The pair are now around 3 feet tall, about the same size as dad Shadow, says Sandy Steers. The biologist is executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that operates the 24-hour nest cam monitoring the feathered family in a towering Jeffrey pine that overlooks Big Bear Lake. Thousands — sometimes tens of thousands — tune in to the cam, which has been in place since 2015. She says the eaglets' wingspan now stretches to more than 5 feet. The nest the foursome shares is big at 6 feet across, but it's getting crowded, and the eaglets are rambunctious. They have been 'wing-ercizing' for weeks now, according to Steers. Stretching and flapping their wings in the nest builds up muscle and hones balance, she said. At first, the hatchlings were 'flapping their little wings and tipping over,' Steers noted, but now they hop and jump across the nest as they're flapping. Fledging can't happen until the eaglet is fully grown physically, she says, and that occurs somewhere between 10 and 14 weeks. Anytime over the next month, Sunny and Gizmo will leap from the nest and fly away. It's possible they won't return, Steers said, 'but they usually do.' The parenting doesn't stop at that point, however. Once their offspring fledges, 'Jackie and Shadow will follow them around the area, showing them how to get food …. and taking good care of them because they don't know how to take care of themselves yet.' That will go on for two or three months as the eaglets learn how to feed themselves. Then, Sunny and Gizmo will likely take off for parts unknown, 'traveling around meeting other juveniles,' Steers said. Ah, kids. They grow up fast. It seems like just a few months ago (and it was) that eagle-eyed devotees were following the Jackie and Shadow saga with both excitement and trepidation as the couple watched over a trio of eggs. It was the second year in a row they'd had a rare three-egg clutch. But the previous winter — one that saw Jackie at one point on her nest for hours, covered in snow, trying to keep her eggs warm — all three failed to hatch. This year, there were triplets. The 'fluff balls of adorability,' as they were described on Facebook, had viewers riveted. But after a snowstorm brought more than 2 feet of snow to the area, one of the chicks died in the nest. A juvenile bald eagle has less than a 50% chance of surviving its first year of life, according to the American Eagle Foundation. Since the webcam was installed, only three chicks have fledged, which is normal, Steers told The Times in a previous interview: 'It's hard work being an eagle.' The perilous first year aside, bald eagles generally live 15 to 30 years in the wild, experts say, although Steers noted one banded eagle who clocked in at 38 years. With Sunny and Gizmo getting ready to strike out on their own, Jackie and Shadow will soon be empty-nesters. But in no time at all, Big Bear's only year-round eagle pair will be family planning again. 'They usually start rebuilding the nest in early to mid-October,' Steers said. New eggs could be in the nest as soon as late December.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Photographer suffers a few minor bruises after bald eagle lands on him at Knoxville Smokies game
Photographer suffers a few minor bruises after bald eagle lands on him at Knoxville Smokies game Ryan Beatty, a University of Tennessee Athletics photography intern, likes to keep a low profile when he's on the job. But last night, he was the center of attention. Beatty was shooting photos at the Knoxville Smokies home opener on April 15 when something unexpected happened: He was attacked by a trained bald eagle flying through the stadium. Advertisement As the national anthem boomed through the brand-new Covenant Health Park, Lincoln, a 27-year-old bald eagle, performed one of his famous stadium flyovers. After a few laps around the ballpark, Lincoln swooped down on top of Beatty, who was standing alone in the outfield photographing the patriotic moment. He saw the bird fly closer before Lincoln landed briefly on Beatty's hip. Beatty quickly moved toward the Boy Scouts holding the massive American flag to reduce the likelihood that the bird would come at him again. Lincoln the bald eagle tries to land on photographer Ryan Beatty in the outfield during opening day of the Knoxville Smokies at Covenant Health Park in Downtown Knoxville on April 15, 2025. "It was scary, but it was cool," Beatty said. "I went through a whirlwind of emotions." Advertisement Beatty walked away with only a few bruises and a good story to tell. After the miscue, Lincoln's handlers blew a whistle to get the bird's attention. They safely collected him and brought him to home plate as the crowd cheered. "Lincoln is a total pro. He's never missed his mark before so we believe it may have been the fireworks. Practice was smooth as could be and that was the only variable," Jessica Hall, American Eagle Foundation executive director, told Knox News. Lincoln is a highly trained bird from the American Eagle Foundation in East Tennessee, the operator of the nation's largest bald eagle sanctuary. Last season, he regularly performed flyovers before Philadelphia Eagles games. Advertisement The UT Sophomore is OK, and said representatives from the American Eagle Foundation checked up on him. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Bald eagle lands on photographer at Knoxville Smokies game
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Famed California eaglet dies during significant winter storm
BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. – California's famed eagles, Shadow and Jackie, recently welcomed hatchlings into the world, bringing joy to wildlife enthusiasts who follow the family through a live-streaming webcam, but recent developments have cast a shadow over the nest. The non-profit organization Friends of Big Bear Valley recently shared the heartbreaking news that one of their eaglets had tragically passed away, leaving only two chicks behind. According to a group member, suspicion started to arise after a powerful winter storm swept through the Golden State and much of the West Coast in recent days. The atmospheric river event, which brought several feet of snow to the San Bernardino Mountains, created challenging conditions for local wildlife, which may have played a role. "We do not know what happened or why it passed. The shorter snow berm now makes that chick partially visible in the nest bowl, on the right side. We do not know which chick it was because they were very close in size," the organization stated. Watch: Baby Bald Eagles Hatch In Longtime Nest Of Beloved Bird Couple While the cause of death remains a mystery, the organization worked to squash rumors that one of the adults was involved. "One false report says Shadow stepped on a chick yesterday afternoon. The truth: as Shadow was exiting the bowl, one chick was resting atop his foot, which they often do. It was briefly pulled away from the other chicks, but rolled back to them quickly…A second false report involves Jackie's wingslap of a flying squirrel visit to the nest very early today. Truth: Jackie threw bits of snow from the nest during that episode, but nothing large enough to be a chick. Jackie's wingslaps are on the surface. The bowl is deep and the chicks are large and heavy," a social media post by the Friends of Big Bear Valley stated. The group notes that the remaining eaglets appear healthy, so despite the unfortunate loss, there is no cause for concern. Demise Of Australia's Large Kangaroos Likely Not Caused By Climate Change, Study Suggests Eagles typically lay their eggs during the early winter, which hatch just over a month later. Over the years, cold weather and encounters with other animals have affected the productivity of Shadow and Jackie's nests. Despite challenges, the overall eagle population across North America has seen significant growth in recent decades, thanks in part to strong conservation efforts. The American Eagle Foundation estimates that there are now over 300,000 bald eagles across the Lower 48, which has allowed the giant bird to be removed from the endangered species article source: Famed California eaglet dies during significant winter storm
