The excitement continued for Jackie and Shadow, the famous bald eagle couple that has made headlines over the years for their nest perched high up in the trees overlooking Big Bear Lake. Their third chick of the season officially hatched early Saturday morning after showing signs of hatching all Friday.

At 6:13 a.m., the third chick hatched, officially bringing the eagles to a family of five together in the nest.

What You Need To Know

  • The third chick of the famous bald eagle couple hatched at 6:13 a.m. Saturday, to officially bring the family to five in the nest 

  • According to a Facebook post on the Friends of Big Bear Valley page, the pip hole for the third egg kept growing until 2:11 a.m. Saturday, where the chick was visible with much of its shell gone

  • The famous couple has gathered quite the following over the years as over 61,000 people liked the Facebook post that announced the hatching of the third egg

  • On Monday night, the first chick hatched in the nest, with the second chick hatching Tuesday at 4:29 a.m., according to the Friends of Big Bear Valley

The third chick finally joined its older siblings, who hatched earlier in the week, in the nest after showing signs of hatching throughout Friday on the YouTube livestream of the family’s nest.

According to a Facebook post on the Friends of Big Bear Valley page, the pip hole for the third egg kept growing until 2:11 a.m. Saturday, when the chick was visible with much of its shell gone. Roughly four hours later, the third chick officially hatched and joined the family.

“All three beautiful bundles of fluff were fully visible, sitting up and ready for breakfast. They all look dry, healthy and full of energy. As they jostle around for positioning, the newest one will have plenty of food still from its yolk for a few days,” Friends of Big Bear Valley and Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam said in a social media post on Facebook Saturday morning.

The famous couple has gathered quite the following over the years as over 61,000 people liked the Facebook post announcing the third egg's hatching. To keep tabs on Jackie and Shadow, Friends of Big Bear Valley operate two livestream cameras of the eagles’ nest, which tens of thousands watch daily.

As of Saturday evening, nearly 45,000 people were watching the live stream, with another 1,600-plus people watching the second camera, which is a wide-angle camera that can also zoom in and out, following the eagles around when they move from tree to tree. The eagle’s main nest camera can move as well, often zooming in for a closeup on the hatchlings when mom Jackie stands up to feed them.

On Monday night, the first chick of this year’s batch hatched in the nest, with the second chick hatching in early Tuesday at 4:29 a.m., according to the Friends of Big Bear Valley. Jackie, Shadow and their new offspring had to tough out a cold winter storm late in the week as Big Bear Mountain got eight inches of snow in 48 hours, according to the resort website.

Nature enthusiasts will now watch the family of five as mom Jackie and dad Shadow continue to feed their new offspring.

To learn more about the history of eagles in Big Bear, visit the link here.