Big Bear eaglet ‘hovers’ for the first time but still hasn’t flown or fledged. What’s the difference?
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- One of the two Big Bear eaglets has begun to hover over the nest that it shares with sibling, Gizmo, and parents, Shadow and Jackie.
- The progress of the two young eagles is being followed through a 24-hour nest cam, located 145 feet up a Jeffrey Pine tree.
One of the Big Bear eaglets marked another milestone Thursday — hovering in the air for the first time.
Sunny, who turned 12 weeks old on Tuesday, “hovered” for the first time, according to Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that operates the 24-hour nest cam that is 145 feet up a Jeffrey Pine tree, overlooking Big Bear Lake.
The eaglets have been practicing going out on tree limbs, flapping, and bouncing up and down. Hovering is when an eaglet catches the wind at the right moment and it takes their body off the ground but they haven’t fully left the nest.
Sunny and Gizmo hatched in March but their triplet sibling died after a snowstorm brought more than 2 feet of snow to the area.
Hovering differs from fledging because the latter is when the eaglets actually leave the nest. The “fledge window” typically occurs when the eaglets are between 10 and 14 weeks old. Gizmo is expected to reach 12 weeks on Saturday.
Sunny and Gizmo are about 3 feet tall, around the same size as their dad, Shadow, according to Steers. Their wingspan now stretches to more than 5 feet and the nest they share with their parents — Shadow and Jackie — is 6 feet across.
Thousands who have been watching the eagles’ nest on a webcam got to see a hatchling emerge, with glimpses of tiny feathers and a beak appearing Monday night.
Once eaglets fledge, some return the same day and others return in a few days.
Jackie and Shadow will be following their eaglets around even after they fly for the first time in order to protect them and teach them how to find food. Eagles don’t reach sexual maturity until they’re around 4 or 5 years old.
“Sometimes they come back off and on for a couple months, sometimes not that long,” Steers said. “They usually leave the area of where they were hatched after a couple months after they’ve been fully taught how to live in the world. Then they travel for a few years.”
Steers said that she has learned a lot from observing Sunny and Gizmo over the last few months by having two eaglets instead of one.
When there is plenty of food, Sunny and Gizmo are quite bonded and friendly with each other.
“It’s a totally different relationship than when there’s not enough food or the siblings are in rivalry,” she said. “They were at the very beginning when they didn’t know if there would be plenty of food. Eagle chicks fight and try to kick the other one away.”
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