Bald eagle’s egg becomes online hit
A bald eagle has laid an egg in a Southern California nest, and nature lovers will watch for the hatching via an online live feed.
Mother eagle Jackie delivered the egg Saturday near Big Bear in the San Bernardino National Forest.
The group Friends of Big Bear Valley, which installed the web cam, says the egg is expected to hatch around Valentine’s Day.
More than 4,000 people have liked the live video feed since the egg was hatched, with thousands tuning in daily to watch the avian parents sitting on the nest. Most times, the feed shows Jackie nestling on the egg as light winds blow through the treetops, ruff ling her feathers, but occasionally the egg sits briefly unattended.
A previous egg laid last week by Jackie was lost after it was attacked by ravens.
Jackie and Shadow also laid two eggs last January, but neither hatched. The U. S. Forest service cited a number of reasons why the eggs might not survive, resulting in what’s called a nest failure. They could have suffered incomplete fertilization during the mating process, or the embryos could have died during incubation because of various reasons, including weather, environmental factors or congenital defects. It’s also possible the chicks weren’t able to break out of their shells.
The previous year, two chicks were born to Jackie and Shadow, but one died after several bouts of harsh winter weather.