{"id":629586,"date":"2026-03-03T16:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/629586\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:34:18","slug":"how-jackie-met-shadow-the-story-behind-big-bears-famous-eagles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/629586\/","title":{"rendered":"How Jackie met Shadow: The story behind Big Bear\u2019s famous eagles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Big Bear\u2019s celebrity bald eagle couple\u2019s eggs were eaten by ravens in late January, they didn\u2019t grieve alone. <\/p>\n

Thousands had watched Jackie and Shadow on livestream, as they meticulously arranged sticks in their nest high in a Jeffrey pine and nibbled each other\u2019s feathers in preparation for laying. All seemed just dandy until both eagles left their nest unattended, and ravens swooped in<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fans recently faced more heartbreak: Last month, Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, which operates the nest camera, died at 73 after a private battle with cancer.<\/a> <\/p>\n

\"Dec. <\/p>\n

Sandy Steers, the late executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, trains her binoculars on a pair of nesting bald eagles at Big Bear Lake in 2018.<\/p>\n

(Irfan Khan \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Losing Steers, and the eggs, unleashed an outpouring. Facebook posts announcing the tragic events received more than 12,000 comments. <\/p>\n

\u201cHer stories just were so calming,\u201d said Jenny Voisard, media and website manager for Friends of Big Bear Valley, they \u201cwould just bring you to the nest.\u201d <\/p>\n

Once upon a time in Big Bear…<\/p>\n

The story of how two eagles just doing eagle things became an internet sensation goes back nearly 20 years, when postcard-perfect Big Bear had no year-round eagles. <\/p>\n

The white-headed raptors would show up in winter to feast on fish when their lakes farther north froze over. Some built \u201cpractice nests\u201d in the area as a bonding ritual, but they all headed home eventually.<\/p>\n

Then, in 2009, a tagged male from Catalina stuck around for the summer. Soon a pair formed. They constructed a nest on the north side of the lake, laying down a foundation for a lineage that endures today.<\/p>\n

That first pair \u2014 called Ricky and Lucy by the U.S. Forest Service \u2014 hatched Jackie in 2012. <\/p>\n

In October 2015, the nonprofit first set up its nest camera, but there was nothing to see. Ricky and Lucy had shifted to a new nest and, within a year, left the area. (A second camera was added in 2021 to capture a wider view of their habitat.) <\/p>\n

Not long after, an eagle believed to be their daughter Jackie started hanging around the old nest. A male, dubbed Mr. B., joined her. Reality stars were born.<\/p>\n