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.
On February 12, 2026, what should have been a routine meal at the Big Bear eagle nest turned into one…