Big Bear’s famous bald eagle couple, Jackie and Shadow, welcomed two new eaglets earlier this month, and now fans have the opportunity to help name them!
Friends of Big Bear Valley has officially launched its eaglet naming contest, inviting supporters from around the world to participate.
The two baby bald eagles hatched over Easter weekend on April 4 and 5 and have been progressing well in their development. “They are close in age and size, but we can tell some subtle differences in color and behavior,” Friends of Big Bear Valley said in a post Wednesday. “Chick 1, we believe, is a little darker, more submissive and went exploring out of the nest bowl yesterday, while its sassy younger sibling was practicing its survival skills.”
Fans of the beloved bald eagle couple can submit name ideas through the Friends of Big Bear Valley website through April 26. Supporters make donations to the nonprofit in exchange for name submissions, with options to submit one, three, or 10 names per donation. Then, a computer program will randomly draw a list of finalists.
The organization, which owns the live cameras near the eagles’ nest, noted this naming contest holds special significance. The hatching of the eaglets happened two months after Sandy Steers passed away, the executive director credited with launching the eagle cam.
Jenny Voisard with Friends of Big Bear Valley told Eyewitness News that the eaglet naming contest was Steers’ favorite tradition. “You can submit a name or two, or however many that you want, and then we will do a random drawing, and we will take a list of finalists to Big Bear third graders, and they will select the final names,” she said. “And that was one of Sandy’s greatest joys was being able to do that.”
The successful hatchings came after a setback this winter when Jackie and Shadow’s first clutch of two eggs this season was destroyed by ravens. Last year, the eagle couple raised two eaglets named Sunny and Gizmo, which eventually fledged the nest after fans worldwide watched them grow up through the live camera feed.
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