The folks at the environmental nonprofit group Friends of Big Bear Valley say they had no idea the impact of installing two cameras atop the Fawnskin forest would have on the world.
Since the cameras’ installation over 10 years ago, the Big Bear bald eagles Jackie and Shadow have become household names. The 24/7 livestream capturing life in the nest has become a global phenomenon. FBBV has roughly 2.4 million social media followers, including more than 1 million on its main Facebook page, not to mention the hundreds of offshoot Facebook groups unaffiliated with the nonprofit group.
An unclear chapter of Jackie and Shadow’s saga is now unfolding, one that could disrupt the bird family’s daily life.
It began when Fawnskin firefighters with the San Bernardino County Fire Department responded to calls that a bald eagle was grounded for hours after an altercation with two other eagles on Friday evening, July 17. FBBV later confirmed the grounded bird was Jackie. Firefighters guarded Jackie for nearly nine hours. Around 2 a.m., the San Dimas Raptor Rescue Team (part of LA County Parks) arrived, rescued the eagle, provided initial stabilization and coordinated its transfer to a specialized rehabilitation facility.
Jackie is now under the care of the Ojai Raptor Center, the Ventura County rescue and rehabilitation site.
It’s been a rough go for the mama bird. When she arrived at Ojai, Jackie was reported to be underweight. Initial bloodwork at Ojai indicated that Jackie was severely anemic and that her kidneys were inflamed, the rehab center announced Tuesday, July 21.
Two days later, the Ojai center said that more drastic measures were necessary, including a late-night blood transfusion. Ojai called the move “life-saving” in a Thursday afternoon Facebook post. The successful transfusion was thanks to the California Living Museum in Bakersfield and the blood of their resident bald eagle, Spirit.
Jackie’s condition remains “critical” and she is still anemic, the Ojai post continues. There are some improvements, though. The mama bird is “bright and strong,” the Ojai medical team reported, as she is eating well and able to perch.
Meanwhile, Jackie’s support runs deep and wide. Within minutes of the Ojai and FBBV social media posts, thousands of comments flooded both channels with words of encouragement.
“I am from Newfoundland, Canada,” Lindell Smith wrote on an Ojai Facebook post, “I have been following Jackie and Shadow for years. Thank you so very much for providing this special care to Jackie and all of your patients
“Pipe in the live stream of her nest to her cage. She will hear the babies and Shadow calling for her. Maybe it will help give her hope!” MB Erickson wrote.
The Southern California News Group has also launched an online board for all who want to send Jackie their well-wishes.
“Wishing you well, baby girl. You got this; you are a strong, confident eagle. Do it for the little ones,” Alex Roberts wrote on the SCNG online board.
“Jackie, you should be called Jackie ‘The Girl Boss’ eagle. You have the heart of a fighter, and I expect to see you up and flying on the wind soon,” Angela McGill also wrote.
The community at large also chimed in with the Friday morning FBBV announcement that the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust, a nonprofit conservancy dedicated to permanently protecting forest land in the San Bernardino National Forest, has reached its goal of obtaining funds to purchase land along the north shore of Big Bear Lake in Fawnskin to prevent a 50-home development project known as Moon Camp.
The proposed development was about a mile from Jackie and Shadow’s nest, and the nonprofit had until July 31 to raise $10 million to buy the land from the property’s owners, Chicago-based RCK Properties.
As of Thursday, community donations reached almost half of the agreement amount; however, tech billionaire and OpenAI co-founder and President Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna, stepped up with a $5.5 million gift to carry the conservancy to the finish line. After escrow, the land will belong to and be cared for by the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust.
I’m crying!” Nancy Martinez wrote on the FBBV Facebook post announcing the update, “I thought my contribution wouldn’t make it far.”
Lyudmyla Mochalska also joins the choir of well-wishes, over 6,000 miles away from the nest, in Lviv, Ukraine.
Mochalska has been watching the birds for two years. She says birds are a reprieve from missile and drone attacks amid the war with Russia. In March, during a daylight attack, an apartment block in the center of the western city of Lviv, near the Polish border, was hit, injuring 13 people, regional officials said.
As Mochalska tells it, while missiles or drones are airborne, she seeks cover on the floor, though there is adequate protective shelter, she said. When the coast is clear, she makes herself a cup of hot tea to calm her nerves and tunes in to a nest thousands of miles away.
The Ukrainian business analyst says watching the livestream is like stepping into another world.
“Jackie and Shadow’s life brings some peaceful thoughts; watching them blows away my depressed mood and thoughts for some time,” Mochalska said.
Mochalska said she’s thankful for the cameras installed by FBBV, which are still capturing life without Jackie.
Shadow remains an attentive father to eaglets Sandy and Luna. FBBV Facebook posts report that Shadow delivers multiple fish meals back to the nest.
A Thursday FBBV Instagram post said that video feed had seen Shadow next to what appears to be another female eagle. The commenters pondered whether Shadow would move on from his longtime mate.
“There’s some weird narrative that Shadow’s like looking to move on from Jackie,” Jenny Voisard, media manager with Friends of Big Bear Valley, said by phone Friday morning, “That’s not likely the case because his hormones won’t change over anyway until the following season… which is around December, January.”
“He’s still bonded to Jackie, and he’s still wondering where Jackie is. I don’t see any evidence or anything that tells me that he’s looking to move on,” Voisard said. Shadow’s primary concern, she said, is defending the nest, defending the territory and feeding Sandy and Luna.
Ojai expects to share a new update on Jackie’s progress on Monday, July 27.