Jackie and Shadow, Big Bear Valley\u2019s celebrity bald eagles, welcomed two chicks to the nest this holiday weekend.<\/p>\n
The first eaglet was born on Saturday at 9:33 p.m. and the second at 8:30 a.m. on Easter morning. Both are looking healthy, Jenny Voisard, media and website manager of the Friends of Big Bear Valley, said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very fun day and weekend for many, and they couldn\u2019t have picked a more perfect time to say hello to the world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Voisard said the hatching process is \u201carduous,\u201d with only 50% of eggs having a chance of making it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have to work itself through an inner membrane and then the outer cell,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd once they get through that, when they poke through that inner membrane, they take their first breath of air, and we can start to hear them chirp.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so we got to hear them chirp,\u201d she said. \u201cWe heard them before we saw any indication of hatching.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, the eaglets reach the outer shell, and it cracks.<\/p>\n
It took 36 hours for the first chick to fully emerge from its shell on Saturday, the Friends group said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we see the outer shell crack, then that\u2019s when we know for sure that the chick has reached that inner and is working its way through the outer,\u201d Voisard said. \u201cAnd so it can take almost three days sometimes, but these little guys were pretty determined, and they got out pretty fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackie and Shadow have been a \u201cmated pair\u201d since the fall of 2018. They have achieved social media fame worldwide and thousands watch them live<\/a> via webcam livestreams.<\/p>\n Last season, three eagles hatched but only two survived. Tragedy struck in January when ravens damaged their eggs.<\/a> But about a month later, Jackie laid two more eggs.<\/a><\/p>\n