Bald eagle dad Shadow stares at nest left empty by hungry ravens, California video shows
Bald eagles Jackie and Shadow left their nest near Big Bear, California, after realizing their two eggs wouldn’t hatch.
But two days after leaving, Shadow returned to the empty nest “confused and concerned.”
Two ravens had scoured the nest when they were gone and ate the undeveloped eggs, the Friends of Big Bear Valley said in a Thursday, March 9, Facebook post.
When Shadow returned, he puttered slowly among the sticks and twigs, appearing to be looking for the missing eggs, a March 8 video shows.
“He seemed to be trying to process this new situation,” the nonprofit wrote in the post.
After about 10 minutes, he flew to a nearby tree where Jackie was perched and sat on a lower branch until she came and rested close to him.
“It looked like Jackie understood his sadness and spent time consoling him,” the nonprofit said. “Both of them have shown this same behavior in the past when something unexpected happened with the eggs.”
Then Shadow later returned to the nest alone.
“He stayed at the nest for over two hours, just staring and watching the surroundings of the nest tree,” the group wrote.
Hope for new clutch of eggs
Jackie laid their first egg Jan. 11 after two days of large storms, then her second egg came Jan. 14, McClatchy News previously reported.
The two tended to the eggs through cold weather and snow storms for well over a month, but they never hatched.
Bald eagles typically incubate eggs for about 35 days. Jackie and Shadow incubated their eggs well beyond that time frame.
It’s not clear why the eggs didn’t hatch, the group said. They could have stopped developing or were never fertilized.
But the group said there’s still hope Jackie could lay another clutch of eggs this season. Jackie has laid a second clutch before, and the two were also seen mating after she laid the first set of eggs.
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Bald eagle dad Shadow stares at nest left empty by hungry ravens, California video shows."
