So many Californians are in full prep mode as late November arrives, with grocery trips, vacuuming, washing, various errands, and cooking high on countless to-do lists.
But few of us are as busy as two well-known California residents, a pair of beloved birds that resides in the mountains not far from Los Angeles.
It’s Jackie and Shadow, the obsessed-over Big Bear Lake bald eagles, that we’re paying admiring ode to, but our admiration goes even further during the fall: That’s when the birds are pluckily preparing their nest for any potential eggs.
These “nestorations” are always amazing to behold, and behold them, we can, thanks to a nest-close camera operated by the nonprofit nature organization Friends of Big Bear Valley.
And at the bark-y heart of nest prep? Sticks, of course, many, many sticks.
Jackie and Shadow gather sticks from their forest home over several autumn weeks, all to add structure, soundness, and the all-important guard rails to their iconic aerie ahead of egg-laying season.
Both eagles can and do glide into the nest while clutching sizable sticks in their talons several times each day during the late fall, but Nov. 22 proved to be a record-breaker: Jackie and Shadow showed up with a jaw-dropping 28 sticks over the course of the day, which bested their old record of 25 sticks.
That former record had stood for over three years. Well, or at least two years: The first 25-stick-day record was achieved by the birds on Oct. 4, 2022; that record was tied on Oct. 30, 2023.
And the eagles were neck-in-neck with each other, or should we say beak-in-beak, in terms of the number of Nov. 22 deliveries: Jackie arrived with 15 sticks while Shadow swooped in with 13.
Something interesting about the new record of 28 sticks? The eagles may have actually shown up with more than 28, but the cameras were not operational for part of the day due to cloudy skies and wetter weather.
In short, 28 stick deliveries were observed, but the number might be higher.
Adding to the drama for at-home viewers? The “wonky” sticks chosen by the eagles often don’t go exactly where they want them to go after a few attempts to place them, resulting in comical antics and fascinating negotiating.
So, like many of us, Jackie and Shadow are diligently tending to matters of domestic care in the days ahead of the holiday, with a focus on getting their celebrated sky-high pad in order.
But while we humans are focusing on Thanksgiving, and the holidays to follow, the eagles have an eagle eye on any potential eggs that may arrive in the winter and making the nest as secure and ready as possible.
When might eggs arrive, if they do? Jackie has generally laid her eggs in past years around the end of January, which is around when the much-anticipated “Egg Watch” period begins.
Stay tuned, devoted stick-watchers, for more sensational stick action straight from beautiful Big Bear Lake.
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