A pair of bald eagle eggs in a nest at Big Bear Lake are expected to hatch any minute now, and the public is invited to watch live.
The eggs were laid on Jan. 8 and on Jan. 11, the U.S. Forest Service announced Sunday.
“We are officially on Hatch-Watch 2020 for our Big Bear nesting bald eagles, known as Jackie and Shadow,” forest officials said via social media.
“Based on the past two years, we are expecting the eggs to pip (the first hole through the shell) today and tomorrow. But, incubation times can vary so it may be a little longer,” the statement said. “Completely hatching from the egg can take another day or even two.”
Jackie and Shadow had two eggs last year. One of them didn’t make it through the winter, but the second successfully fledged. The young eagle was named “Simba.”
Bald eagles generally share parenting duties, taking turns sitting on the eggs and hunting for food, officials explained. But Jackie tends to stubbornly guard her eggs, rarely letting Shadow take his turn incubating them.
The organization Friends of big Bear Valley operates a camera that provides a 24-hour live stream of the nest.
The area around the nest is closed to the public.
