A tree top nest isn’t exactly an ideal place to be when the wind start howling… and this video proves it.
All eyes have been on this nature cam in Big Bear Lake, California as of late. A camera was set up to monitor a bald eagle nest in the area, and two well-known birds named Jackie and Shadow have been utilizing this particular nest since at least January of last year. It was then when the bald eagle couple first went viral after the mother, Jackie, was caught on camera toughing out an extreme winter storm.
Check it out:
That right there is the power of a mother on display… and also launched Jackie and Shadow into social media stardom.
After successfully hatching a couple of eaglets last year, the baldie breeding couple are back to their egg-warming ways in early 2026. Jackie and Shadow have two eggs that they are trying to keep safe and warm right now, but the weather hasn’t exactly been cooperative with their efforts. They’ve been put through the ringer in their nest that sits high up in a tree that’s located in Big Bear Valley.
Bald eagles are quite large, measuring up to 40 inches tall and weighing up to 12 pounds. That means they need a sizable nest to call home, and they typically build their nests in an area with a good view of the surrounding landscape, usually in large trees, cliff sides, or other high-elevated rock formations. The one in this video is high up in a tree, and boasts quite the view… when the winds aren’t whipping around at 60 miles per hour.
In the video below from March 7, Shadow (the father) can be seen hanging on for dear life to their sturdily built nest as winds gusted at 63 miles per hour. His partner, Jackie, eventually came back to the nest to help shield their eggs… and it’s a good thing she did, because Shadow was nearly blown out of the tree top an hour or so before she came back:
Those sharp talons certainly came in handy.
For those that don’t know, it typically takes around 35 days for bald eagle eggs to hatch. The incubation period takes just over a month, and Jackie laid the eggs in late February. Her and Shadow had actually laid a clutch of eggs in late January, but ravens attacked the nest and it was a total loss. So the two bald eagles laid more a month later, and they are currently taking care of them… without any help at all from the strong, California winds.
Fortunately, it looks like the winds have died down since that above video was taken. The “Big Bear Bald Eagle Live Nest Cam” shows the bald eagle parents enjoying some more milder weather conditions as they continues to keep their eggs warm:
