Big Bear Eagle Jackie Mourned by 2,000 as Mate Bonds With Newcomer

A new female bald eagle is already sharing dawn flights with Shadow over Big Bear Lake, signaling a rapid transition at one of the internet’s most-watched wildlife nests just weeks after the death of his longtime mate, Jackie.

The nearly 5-year-old female, identified by a lavender leg band and named Kaydee by local conservationists, first appeared on nest cameras in early August while Jackie was receiving critical care. She has remained at the site, perching and vocalizing with Shadow. The pair now follows an established routine, roosting together overnight before flying in tandem at daybreak, according to updates from Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that operates the livestream.

The swift pairing follows a memorial gathering Saturday at Bear Mountain Resort, where an estimated 2,000 people converged to mourn Jackie. Attendees traveled from Los Angeles, Texas and Carlsbad, filling the mountain venue wearing custom apparel and carrying plush replicas of the raptor. Local business owner Doria Rone and livestream viewer Michael Lichtman were among those who described the event as a rare unifying moment for strangers connected entirely through digital observation of a wild animal.

Jackie died in August at the Ojai Raptor Center after being found weak and flightless on the lake’s north shore in mid-July. A territorial scuffle with two younger eagles left her grounded, but the altercation did not cause her underlying illness. Executive director Chris Eksteen said veterinary staff discovered severe anemia requiring a blood transfusion from another eagle. Despite contrast CT scans and bone marrow biopsies, specialists could not identify the root cause of her decline. Necropsy results remain pending.

Her final year was marked by extreme volatility. Ravens consumed her first clutch of eggs in late January. The following month, Sandy Steers, the executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, died. Jackie subsequently laid a replacement clutch that hatched over Easter weekend. Her two chicks, named Sandy and Luna in honor of the late director, successfully fledged shortly before their mother fell ill.

Bald eagles typically mate for life, but surviving partners will accept new mates if one dies or disappears, a biological imperative driven by the need to defend territory and maximize reproductive success during breeding season. Shadow originally paired with Jackie in 2018. Their nest, situated high in a Jeffrey pine overlooking the lake, became a fixture of American wildlife broadcasting.

The phenomenon extends well beyond Southern California. Wildlife cameras have transformed niche ornithological observation into mass digital engagement, paralleling the global reach of other famous broadcasts such as the Decorah eagles in Iowa or the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s feeders. These streams generate sustained funding for habitat preservation and provide researchers with continuous behavioral data that would be impossible to collect through intermittent field visits.

San Bernardino National Forest Supervisor Danelle Harrison noted the political weight of the broadcast during Saturday’s ceremony, recalling how questions about the eagles dominated her initial press interviews upon taking the job, superseding traditional forest management inquiries. San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe addressed the crowd directly, characterizing the bird as a community ambassador who bridged divides.

Friends of Big Bear Valley continues to operate the nest cameras around the clock as the autumn months progress toward the next winter breeding cycle.