An egg-citing plot twist has emerged in what\u2019s already been an eventful nesting season for Big Bear\u2019s celebrity bald eagle couple<\/p>\n
Jackie laid an egg on Tuesday afternoon, offering new hope for babies this year after a previous clutch was eaten by ravens<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before the egg arrived, just shy of 2:30 p.m., Jackie spent much of the day on the nest and \u201cpancaked\u201d for longer periods of time, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, a nonprofit that operates a camera trained on the nest.<\/p>\n Pancaking is when a female eagle lies down flat in the bowl of the nest to test and shape it \u2014 and can signal eggs are nigh.<\/p>\n As she pancaked, her wings began to spread, revealing more of the upper part of her white tail. Her eyes looked sleepy.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the first signs she will likely be laying an egg,\u201d Friends of Big Bear Valley wrote in a Facebook post<\/a>.<\/p>\n As labor continued, she got into a squatting position; she let out some squeals and her tail flapped.<\/p>\n \u201cShe roused her feathers and soon after, more tea kettle whistles came,\u201d the nonprofit wrote in the post. A close watch of the recap video shows her body tense up as she pushes out the egg.<\/p>\n It was a triumphant moment for the eagles\u2019 legions of fans who have withstood tragedy in recent weeks. The nonprofit\u2019s post<\/a> announcing the new egg garnered 62,000 likes.<\/p>\n After bonding and mating, the couple welcomed their first egg this season on Jan. 23<\/a>. Three days later, a second arrived.<\/p>\n But days later the eagle pair left the nest unattended. While they were out, ravens swooped in and devoured the eggs.<\/p>\n Not long after, a key figure in the eagles\u2019 relationship with the public, Sandy Steers, passed away<\/a> after a private battle with cancer. Steers, 73, was executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley.<\/p>\n