Late Monday in Bird World

2 February 2026

Hello to Everyone,

Oh, the sadness that the loss of Jackie and Shadow’s eggs has caused. It was like a grey cloud that covered the entire world. Of all the nests, these two tug at our heartstrings more than any others – or so it seems by the continued number of letters I am receiving. They are certainly a very special couple.

Everyone is complaining about the weather. My friend, Geemeff, in the UK, is tired of rain, and we are tired of snow. There is little room in my garden for anymore! The rain in the UK is having a huge impact on the birds and wildlife there.

 ‘It sounds apocalyptic’: experts warn of impact of UK floods on birds, butterflies and dormice https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/01/storm-chandra-uk-floods-impact-wildlife-birds-butterflies-dormice-beavers-aoe?CMP=share_btn_url

Here, the wind and the freezing cold are surely impacting the birds that come to the garden. Surely. It is difficult enough for humans – and for our dear Brock. We will be ever so happy when spring arrives.

Meanwhile…Toby continues to try on little coats. This one will be for a warmer day. The aviator coat and his red jump suit are perfect for the weather now. The jump suit is the best as he can leap into deep snow and not have it cover all of him.

Ann rescued a three-year-old dog. Lucy is a little smaller than Toby. Toby used his allowance to get her a very adjustable pink vest. We hope she likes it.

Once Lucy is fixed, she is coming over to meet Toby. Let us hope they are real friends. It would be brilliant.

Morning delight: There is an osprey at the Wolf Bay nest in Alabama.

There has been so much discussion about Jackie and Shadow and that is simply because we love them. They are the most loved bald eagles in the US if you count the number of viewers along with all the news coverage. We are sad for them – and for us. What a joy it has been to watch Spirit fledge and then Sunny and Gizmo last year. Oh, what a year it was and we hoped for another. Perhaps there will be. It was unusual for Jackie to be off the eggs for so long. Each of us knew that. You felt something was wrong. Those eggs are so precious to them. I got a note from ‘B’ that might help clarify what happened – and why we must always ‘trust the Eagles’.

‘B’ wrote: “I hadn’t looked at the Friends of Big Bear Valley facebook page until now, so I hadn’t realized that FOBBV had seen that one of the eggs was cracked even before the ravens visited.  So, yes, maybe Jackie had sensed that something was off.  Hopefully Jackie will quit incubating what remains now, so that she can move on, even if there isn’t a second clutch.  I totally understand you not sending a note upon learning the news — I had thought that might be a possibility even before you mentioned.  Much as we love all these nests, Jackie and Shadow are special.”

No matter what happens we will keep these two in our hearts and continue to check in on their daily activities. We might be surprised by a second clutch. As I mentioned, second clutches are, indeed, rare but Jackie and Shadow did have one in 2021.   

SK Hideaways Videos Week of 25 January 2026

FOBBV Bald Eagles: Jackie & Shadow ~ Happy Birthday, you two!  

While their precise hatch date is unknown, we celebrate both their birthdays on 1 February.
Courtesy FOBBVCAM | Friends of Big Bear Valley
Resident Bald Eagle male: Shadow (unbanded) since May 2018. Estimated hatch year: 2014
Resident Bald Eagle female: Jackie (unbanded) since September 2016. Estimated hatch year: 2012
Nest Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE
Wide View Cam (Cam 2): https://youtube.com/live/LCGYWfbyBWc
LIVE Recap & Observations https://bit.ly/3Md8TSz
Big Bear Eagle History: https://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/eagle-history/

Raven Breaks Both of Jackie & Shadow’s Eggs (2026 Jan 30)
It was a very sad day in Big Bear. Jackie and Shadow were away from the nest for nearly 4 hours. During that time, ravens made multiple visits and ultimately breached both of the eggs. But before they did, we could see that one egg was already cracked. Perhaps Jackie and Shadow’s extended absence indicated their sense that something was off with the eggs. Absent an eagle mind-reader, we will never know. 
Video: https://youtu.be/PT0yZCVYKJE
Courtesy FOBBVCAM | Friends of Big Bear Valley

JACKIE LAYS 2ND EGG! Shadow Will be So Eggcited Tomorrow! 2026 Jan 26
Jackie had another short labor laying her second egg of the season just before dusk. Shadow had been visiting just 20 minutes before, so he’ll get a welcome surprise in the morning.
Video: https://youtu.be/TTBhA0nK7NU


John Bunker Sands Bald Eagles: Mom & Dad
Courtesy John Bunker Sands Wetland Center Eagle Cam
Eagle Tower Camera 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wdo7BzUU_g
Eagle Tower Camera 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEDb2KqvvyQ

Eaglets JBS 24 &  JBS 25 Begin Bonking Despite Full Pantry (2026 Jan 28)
3-day-old JBS 24 and 2-day-old JBS 25 are being very well fed. They even have tiny baby crops and a very full nest of food. Despite that, instinct has kicked in and one eaglet, likely JBS 24, has begun a food competition. But it’s pretty minor and the video shows just one instance of the eaglet being aggressive against its sibling. It is reported that this nest historically has very little sibling aggression (except for last year), so let’s hope the typical trend continues. Even with the one bonk shown here, these two are a joy to watch. (2026 Jan 28)
Video: https://youtu.be/GPwd5POXfuM

1- and 2-Day Old Eaglets Get to Know the Joys of FISH (2026 Jan 27)
JBS 24 hatched on January 25^th; JBS 25 on January 26^th. We join them as Mom feeds them an afternoon fish snack. They make the troubles of the world simply fade away. 
Video: https://youtu.be/CIvPlG-vqNc


San Jose City Hall Peregrine Falcons: Hartley & Monty
Courtesy San Jose City Hall Peregrine Falcon Cam
Nest Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBSxPjy5sow
Ledge Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pp9TisLmLU
Roof Cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQLhmV6bP6o

San Jose CH Falcons: Hartley & Monty’s Rooftop Rendezvous ~ Nesting Season in Full Gear (2026 Jan 29)
Despite what the calendar says, spring is already in the air for Hartley and Monty. Today they met briefly on the ledge before a rooftop rendezvous. Hoping for eggs in just over a month. 
Video: https://youtu.be/cMUzsVTn408

San Jose CH Falcons: Hartley & Monty Are in the Mood for Love (2026 Jan 24)
Nesting season kicks off in earnest as Hartley and Monty increase mating frequency.  
Video: https://youtu.be/RjN3HDNp_Wo

The GHO has caused the female at Frenchman’s Creek to stop incubating her egg at night. She has only laid one. Heidi has kept a close eye on this nest. It is so sad and at the same time, I am glad that the female wants to survive and has learned to stay away when the owls are flying at night. Osplets can wait another year or never until the owl is not around.

Finally. The murder trial of a gamekeeper who killed his colleague will begin. This all began, as I understand, with the killing of raptors.

Chichester’s Peregrine Falcon news:

A trip down memory lane: ‘A’ wrote, very excited. She found some information from three years ago and she wants me to share it with you. I know that you will remember the little red-tail hawklet raised by the Bald Eagles on Gabriola Island in British Columbia, Canada. ‘A’ writes: “I found this from 15 March 2023: 

As a followup to last year, a local observer reported that the hawklet Malala was being seen with the adults on the beach and seemed to be doing well – apparently young hawks stay with their parents longer than eaglets, and the parents are accepting this.

Isn’t that just wonderful? And how amazing that the adult birds maintain a caring and teaching relationship with the hawklet for some significant period of time after it fledges, even though this is not the usual behaviour with eaglet fledglings of a similar age. And how wonderful that the little hawklet is on the beach with its adoptive parents, learning how to hunt for eagle food. I cannot tell you how that just makes my heart sing. As you know, I adored that spunky little hawklet, and had SO many questions after it fledged that I never thought would be answered. So it is wonderful to hear that single piece of news – it makes me so incredibly happy. I suppose the courage of the wee thing was what made the difference. It was cautious in its early behaviour on the nest but equally, it stood up for itself, literally fought for respect once or twice, and generally behaved in a very assertive manner. I’m not sure whether the outcome would have been different if Malala had been a bit more timid. 

In the end, the basic behaviours of a chick were interpreted by the parents as warranting parental care because they are programmed to react that way and because their hormones were in the ‘chick caring’ phase. See a begging small beak, fill it with food. Hawklets are brave, bold little things – they do mature very quickly – and I suppose that is what saved this small person. But I really think this must happen quite frequently – some birds rely on the parental instincts of other species to reproduce at all (cuckoos, some ducks and a range of others), so I think we’d be surprised at how frequently it does occur if we knew the exact numbers. Parental instincts are just so incredibly strong. Look at the seemingly irrational devotion of parents of most species. The self-sacrifice involved in raising young is incredible (look at the albatrosses) and yet it is demonstrated by almost every species.  

As you might have picked up, this has absolutely made my weekend. I am beyond thrilled! Please update your readers. I know how popular the Gabriola Island nest became in 2022 as a result of this blended family – so much so that the landowners chose not to allow the livestream the following season (2023). They did continue to monitor the bald eagle pair in 2024, I think, though I don’t know about 2025. It was a GROWL project, but there is no current information about the nest on their site.”

Deb Stecyk has posted the following about the activities at the NCTC nest of Bella and Scout. You might have difficulty viewing the log here so please go to Bald Eagles 101 FB.

I am so ashamed that I forgot about some nests, and I do not intend to – look at the two eaglets at Hilton Head! They are so gorgeous and have all their juvenile plumage!!!!!! And what a feast – six fish. Lovely.

As i the Winter Park Bald Eagle nest had not endured enough with the earlier rivalry between the eaglets, difference in age by five days, then a huge storm has torn off the rails! https://youtu.be/zyHx4-fMUxg?

Send them good wishes. The eagles can quickly build up the rails if the chicks can manage to stay in the nest.

‘J’ sent us the video of the candling of the Kakapo eggs! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PiN_hMl9xo

ABC’s Bird of the Week is the Painted Bunting. Have a read. These colourful birds remind me of the Rainbow Lorikeets that visited Daisy the Duck while she was incubating her eggs or the sea eaglets when they are on the nest. I find I always learn something about these little focused stories.

“Painted Bunting” by Dan Pancamo is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

There is a second egg at the Pink Shell Osprey nest in Florida.

Thank you so very much for being with us today. We hope that Monday brings you a wonderful start to your week. Our friends in parts of France are beginning to see small flowers, a Quince blossom here or there – tiny little reminders that spring will come! It is sunny with a beautiful blue sky today and it is -19 C. It will warm up a bit. Toby is getting excited about going for his walk with Ellen in half an hour. I am so grateful for all the help and support that I have.

As for us, we are doing well. It is 2 February and it is our anniversary. Last year we were in Guadeloupe. This year we are sharing a very special Chocolate Haskap cake and are simply grateful that we have a home, food, are able to heat that home in the winter and take care of the other animals that bring joy to our lives. It is the little things around us that are important – keep them safe and make the land and the lives of those that share it better. If everyone did that, we would not have a problem!

We look forward to having you with us again later this week. Take care.

Thank you to SK Hideaways for their videos, to the others who create videos and information posts on FB and the authors of articles and posts that tell us much about our feathered friends. I am grateful to all of you as well as the owners of the streaming cams that allow us to look into the lives of our favourite raptors.