After the August 10 death of his longtime mate, Jackie, Big Bear's well-known bald eagle, Shadow, has been seen near his nest and favored trees with a younger banded eagle known as KD1, a development that nest watchers are following closely.
Here's what to know
Friends of Big Bear Valley's nest cameras have captured Shadow alongside KD1, a sub-adult eagle aged over 4 years old that was first recorded in the habitat on August 6.
KD1 also turned up at the nest on August 10. As Fox LA reported, that was the day Jackie's death was announced. Jackie had been at the Ojai Raptor Center since July 18 after being found grounded, but she was unable to recover.
Friends of Big Bear Valley said Shadow's most recent visit to the nest had been on July 23, the same day his eaglets Sandy and Luna were last seen in the habitat. The group described the stretch that followed as the quieter post-nesting phase, when eagles usually remain nearby but visit the nest less often.
Experts said KD1 was banded in March 2022 as a hatchling from Southern California. They also said the eagle's gender is still unknown because no DNA testing was done at the time of banding.
Officials said KD1 looks larger than Shadow. Friends of Big Bear Valley noted that female bald eagles are typically about 25% to 33% bigger than males, and that it is still too soon to know whether the two birds will eventually form a pair bond.
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"Is this a new bond forming between these two?" the group wrote. "Well, it could be and it may not be, only time will tell."
More background
Friends of Big Bear Valley said Jackie was identified as a Big Bear Valley chick in 2012. After later taking back her home nest, she and Shadow drew a worldwide audience once the livestream camera was installed in 2015.
Starting in 2018, viewers saw the pair raise several eaglets on camera. Friends of Big Bear Valley said Jackie laid 25 eggs over that span, and 10 hatched, including Sandy and Luna.
During her three weeks at Ojai Raptor Center, Jackie underwent extensive testing, including a contrast CT scan, a bone marrow biopsy, and heavy-metal screening. The center also said she received a blood transfusion on July 22 using donor blood from Spirit, an ambassador bald eagle at the California Living Museum Zoo in Bakersfield.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Jackie eventually developed severe health problems affecting multiple body systems. Officials cited clots in her wing and near a kidney, abnormalities in the liver and lungs, poor bone marrow response, and an inability to keep food down.
Jackie died in the early morning of August 10, and veterinarians still have not determined the root cause of her illness.
What can be done?
Because nesting season generally does not start until late fall or winter, it may be months before observers know whether Shadow and KD1 stay together, become a breeding pair, or part ways.
Veterinary pathologists with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance have finished a formal necropsy. Federal law requires that Jackie's remains be sent to Colorado's National Eagle Repository, where they can be distributed to enrolled members of federally recognized tribes for religious, cultural, and ceremonial use.
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