I know. Pinch yourself. They missed three years and now they will have three eaglets. I cannot even begin to imagine how thrilled Jackie and Shadow are at this moment as a winter storm pounds their nest in the Big Bear Valley in California.
The two earlier hatches had some food at 1315. One is more interested in bonking, but soon enough its eyes will be focused on those bites of fish and Coot coming to the nest.
The bookmakers would have had a field day. No one and I do mean no one – would have guessed that three eggs would hatch this year. Send all your love and good wishes to this family as they work to survive through this storm which is set to dissipate Friday morning.
I am completely overcome with emotion. Those weepy tears of joy simply are not stopping.
Thank you to FOBBV for their streaming cam. 59,000 souls are watching this nest right now.
I went to the UK as a Commonwealth Scholar in 1990 and received my PhD from the University of Leicester in 1993. After three decades of university teaching, I retired to devote my time to the study of raptor behaviour. I am particularly interested in Ospreys and am working on a long term project on third hatch survival and siblicide in these raptors. My blog is a result of a fascination with my local wildlife and the desire to encourage others to love and care for birds! I live on the Canadian Prairies and prior to the pandemic travelled a lot. I am questioning the use of aviation fuel at the moment as we all strive to help our planet. My early research was in politics and art including British public statues exported to Southeast Asia and Vietnam Resistors that contributed much to Canadian ceramics. Books and articles were published on those subjects over a period of 3 decades. Now I am working on books for children so they can learn about the challenges our raptors face.
View all posts by maryannsteggles
You sound like me. I have always loved Jackie and Shadow and was so sad for them last year. It was like they didn’t put a talon wrong and Jackie weathered that storm totally covered in snow. But to no avail. Why, why, why? Three eggs this year and now two beautiful hatchlings and with the third on the way. I was rummaging in my purse for my checkbook to pay for my manicure and received a notification on my phone which I would normally ignore. When I scrolled down and saw the first words, I was totally overcome with emotion. I surprised myself. It’s all your fault–I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought myself a bottle of champagne. After a late lunch, I opened the champagne and have tippled watching the live feed on the big TV. It’s running about 3 hours behind because I shut the TV off before I left for my appointment and YouTube must have paused the feed. But that’s OK. I’m watching that and looking at new video postings on my laptop. That one feeding where the “bonking” chick missed the feeding and got covered in food while the other one ate was absolutely
hilarious. These chicks are already entertaining.
Just when I was worried that the third would be bonked and maybe a victim of sibling rivalry, I saw this before I went to bed last night; enjoy! The director of FOBBV was interviewed and mentions sibling rivalry: https://youtu.be/6oSrP21CwVw?si=bQ4jtwcq9S_h-2he
I am behind and I apologise for answering this on such a sad day. We must hope that the other two are strong and the cold damp from the lingering winter storms does not cause them to be ill. Send all your good wishes to this wonderful family.
You sound like me. I have always loved Jackie and Shadow and was so sad for them last year. It was like they didn’t put a talon wrong and Jackie weathered that storm totally covered in snow. But to no avail. Why, why, why? Three eggs this year and now two beautiful hatchlings and with the third on the way. I was rummaging in my purse for my checkbook to pay for my manicure and received a notification on my phone which I would normally ignore. When I scrolled down and saw the first words, I was totally overcome with emotion. I surprised myself. It’s all your fault–I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought myself a bottle of champagne. After a late lunch, I opened the champagne and have tippled watching the live feed on the big TV. It’s running about 3 hours behind because I shut the TV off before I left for my appointment and YouTube must have paused the feed. But that’s OK. I’m watching that and looking at new video postings on my laptop. That one feeding where the “bonking” chick missed the feeding and got covered in food while the other one ate was absolutely
hilarious. These chicks are already entertaining.
Just when I was worried that the third would be bonked and maybe a victim of sibling rivalry, I saw this before I went to bed last night; enjoy! The director of FOBBV was interviewed and mentions sibling rivalry:
https://youtu.be/6oSrP21CwVw?si=bQ4jtwcq9S_h-2he
I am behind and I apologise for answering this on such a sad day. We must hope that the other two are strong and the cold damp from the lingering winter storms does not cause them to be ill. Send all your good wishes to this wonderful family.