On the heels of the death of his longtime mate Jackie, bald eagle Shadow has been perching, singing and lounging at his Big Bear nest with a new companion. It’s all being captured on a world-famous livestream, spurring mixed reactions from fans who are still reeling from Jackie’s passing.
Pete Bloom, a raptor biologist who helped band the newcomer, says there’s a very good chance the bald eagles will make a go at starting a family in a few months.
“It is highly likely that these two birds that currently seem to be forming a pair bond will indeed be a pair at the time that nesting begins, which is roughly December,” said Bloom, who has studied and placed identifying bands on raptors for more than 40 years.
Bloom said he’s “basically confirming” the recent arrival — known as KD1 or Kaydee — is female because of her size and behavior.
The 4½-year-old eagle is larger than Shadow and she’s been moving sticks around in the nest and nibbling on him. In other words, she’s “doing things that assist in the forming of pair bonds, and I wouldn’t expect it to be another male,” he said. “So that leaves the other sex.”
Bloom’s nonprofit was contracted by the Orange County Water District to band the bird in April 2022, and it’s believed she was born a month prior. KD1 — which is inscribed on her leg band — hails from the Prado Basin, some 70 miles southwest of Big Bear.
In mid-July, Jackie was rescued in bad shape on the shore of Big Bear Lake and transferred to the Ojai Raptor Center for treatment.
On Aug. 6, while Jackie was in critical care, KD1 first appeared on cameras operated by the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley, which capture Shadow’s nest and wider habitat.
Despite exhaustive testing, experts could not figure out exactly why Jackie was so ill. After ups and downs, her condition deteriorated and she died on Aug. 9.
Just hours after her death was announced, KD1 showed up at the nest Shadow had shared with Jackie since 2018. A few days later, they were both in the aerie, perched high in a Jeffrey pine overlooking the picturesque lake.
The canoodling has continued. On Tuesday, they were spotted together in a favorite roost tree. The next morning, “they both belted out good mornings to the valley below,” Friends of Big Bear Valley wrote in a Facebook post. She appeared to follow Shadow around later that day, prompting the nonprofit to exclaim, “Shadow has a shadow!”
In the same post, the nonprofit announced it was taking the unusual step of naming the new eagle “Kaydee.” “Generally, Friends of Big Bear Valley does not give names to nest visitors unless they have been around long-term … until now. We have chosen to name KD1 Kaydee, whether or not they decide to stay in the area.”
Per Bloom, she’s likely to stay put — as well as her companion. (For the record, Bloom says that without a leg band, there’s no confirming the male is the same eagle year after year, and he avoids referring to wild birds by name.)
There’s a floating population of eagles all over North America, “and many of those birds, when they reach four years of age, are now in the business of prospecting,” Bloom said. “That is, they’re going to cliffs, they’re going to large trees, they’re flying over other eagle territories, and they’re looking for vacancies: ‘Does this male down below have a female with it? Apparently not. Let’s drop in and see what’s going on.’”
For most birds of prey, territory is most important; mate comes second, according to Bloom. A good territory allows a couple to raise a family so it makes more sense for an eagle in possession of one to stay put and wait for other eagles to come knocking, he said.
If the eagles pair up, it doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly. Bloom said young eagles, like KD1, are more prone to grave mistakes when it comes to rearing young, from egg to eaglet. A lot can go wrong. Miss enough feedings and a vulnerable chick can perish. Or a mountain lion can snatch it.
“They get better at it as they get older,” he said.
Many fans are thrilled by the appearance of KD1. After all, it could signal a new chapter for the “Truman Show”-like livestream. Others have expressed ambivalence, or even dismay.
“Of course the fairy tale ending was wished by all,” one commenter wrote on Facebook. “This is real nature and I choose to be extremely thankful that Jackie did not disappear to die a suffering death and joyful that Shadow is not alone.”
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