Hatch watch is underway at a California bald eagle nest monitored by a popular online camera feed [View all]

Source: Associated Press

Hatch watch is underway at a California bald eagle nest monitored by a popular online camera feed

Updated 4:06 PM EST, February 29, 2024

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Hatch watch is underway in Southern California mountains. Three bald eagle chicks could emerge this week from eggs laid in a nest monitored by nature lovers via a popular online camera feed.

The mother, Jackie, laid the eggs in late January atop a tree overlooking Big Bear Lake high in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles. She diligently sat on the eggs for more than two and a half days straight when a recent winter storm blanketed the nest with snow.

“This is the longest time she has ever stayed on the nest incubating her eggs without a break! 61 hours 58 minutes!” said the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley, which installed the nest camera in 2015 and documents the successes and failures each breeding season.

Since the storm, Jackie has shared incubating duties with the watchful father, Shadow. Biologists expect the eaglets could begin to hatch Thursday or Friday. The process of chicks breaking out of their shells is also known as pipping.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/bald-eagles-next-eggs-hatch-california-de288d8c5d3a611cbd93afe27d12fb68