The question of a Big Bear eagles second clutch suddenly feels very real. With the snow finally melted from Jackie…
Jackie boldly tries to mate on the snowy Big Bear nest, leaning in with vocals and neck nibbles — but Shadow refuses. What happened seconds later could signal a major shift in the season.
On 2-18-2026, a hungry young eagle circled too close to Jackie and Shadow’s snowy nest high above Big Bear Lake. As Shadow guarded a freshly delivered coot in the winter cold, tension rose in the snow-covered branches.
On February 16, 2026, as a powerful winter storm pushed toward Big Bear and the wind began to build, Jackie made a move that instantly changed the mood in the nest. She lowered herself slowly into the bowl, pressing flat and still in a posture eagle watchers know well. Pancaking. The timing could not have felt more dramatic.
For a brief moment, it looked possible. On February 14, 2026, a juvenile eagle circled back over the Big Bear nest tree, and Jackie saw it immediately. Just seconds earlier, she had finished eating a fish. Then she looked up — and everything about her posture changed.