After heartbreaking loss, famous eagle Jackie lays new eggs

After two eggs were destroyed last month, a famous eagle in California has laid two more and has fans glued to the Big Bear eagle cams again as the 2026 nesting season unfolds.

Friends of Big Bear Valley, a nonprofit that streams live feeds of bald eagles in the San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California, has confirmed that one of its famous eagles, Jackie, has laid two new eggs, one on Feb. 24 and another on Feb. 27. The new eggs come after the pair’s previous eggs were destroyed by ravens on Jan. 30.

After a cold snap with snow two weeks ago, the weather in Big Bear was warm last week, and is expected to be mostly sunny this week, with low temperatures in the 20s and highs falling from near 60 on Monday to the 40s by Friday.

"During their short 'winter break' last week, since eagles tend to prefer cooler weather over the heat," Friends of Big Bear Valley wrote on Facebook, "so Jackie and Shadow likely enjoyed those snow days."

The history of Jackie the Eagle

"Jackie is believed to be the first Bald eagle that hatched and fledged in Big Bear," the organization says on their website.

"Her parents were named Ricky and Lucy. Jackie and Shadow have successfully fledged four chicks together: Simba, Spirit, Sunny and Gizmo. In their exploratory years, Bald eagles can travel thousands of miles," they explained.

In 2025, the internet watched closely as Jackie laid three eggs, all of which hatched, though one of the eaglets did not survive a snowstorm. The other two, named Sunny and Gizmo, took flight in early June, marking the first year that Friends of Big Bear Valley had two fledges in the same year.

The eagle nest is threatened by nearby housing development and is raising money to purchase the land where the eagles forage for food.

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