What will happen to Jackie's Big Bear eagle nest? Biologist discusses possibilities of what's next

Now that Big Bear eagle Jackie is no longer in her nest, Friends of Big Bear Valley are left waiting on nature to see what will happen, especially since Shadow hasn't been seen returning on the live web cameras. One biologist is finding hope in the heartache.

"There's so much emotion and everyone's so invested in this, but it's also exciting that we even get the chance to witness this," said Jenna Carpenter, a field biologist. "It's a real privilege we get to see all this happening."

With two cameras on Fawnskin, several eagles have been spotted as the public waits to see who takes over the nest now left behind.

There were the two seen squabbling with Jackie last month, another Shadow batted out of the nest before Luna and Sandy left and now eaglet KD1 is making her presence known.

"KD," as birdwatchers are calling her, is a banded eaglet that hatched in the Prado Basin in Riverside County in 2021. Carpenter is a field biologist in the area.

"KD being 4 and a half is almost of breeding age for bald eagles; when they hit 5 is when they can start laying eggs, so KD1 may be looking around, looking for habitat, looking for territories," Carpenter said.

Although scientists believe the eaglet is a female, it is still too early to tell.

"I think a lot of people are calling her a female and looking at it that might be so, but what we do is make an educated guess," Carpenter said.

KD was banded when she was a few weeks old. Her parents, named Ricky and Lucy, arrived in the Prado Basin 6 years ago and built a nest. KD hatched the second year, one of nine eagles who fledged here. She, like many eagles, is currently in Big Bear, which is normal behavior for young adults.

"A lot of eagles just go to Big Bear to hang out for a while," Carpenter said. "It's not breeding season right now and so most of the eagles what they're thinking about is being in good habitat with good food."

But with winter coming, they're expected to pair off and find nests. Shadow, who is alone now, was seen in his favorite tree on Tuesday. After visiting Jackie's nest, KD flew over to say hello.

There are no guarantees that Shadow will remain in the nest with or without a partner

"We're just really glad to see KD1 is thriving. We don't often get to see updates of what the eagles coming out of these nests are doing, so to be able to see where they've gone is really wonderful," Carpenter said.