It is with a heavy heart and tear-dampened feathers that we at CB report the passing of Jackie the American bald eagle on Monday at the age of 14. After spending three weeks in intensive care at Ojai Raptor Center, the grand dame Haliaeetus leucocephalus succumbed to a mysterious illness that seemed to have been exacerbated by a public fight with two other eagles last month. Jackie soared to heights few eagles dare in Big Bear Lake, California, thanks to a live nest cam that offered an unflinching look at the realities of being an eagle mama in the wintery treetops of the San Bernadino Mountains. Snow, storms, and any number of other precarious conditions (like ravens cracking the eggs, grr) made for nerve-wracking pip watches that very often proved unsuccessful. Yet each and every year, Jackie showed up to try it all over again. After a brief two-season relationship with an eagle named Mr. B (with whom one eaglet fledged, Stormy), in 2019 Jackie found her forever eagle in Shadow, who survives her today, along with their fledged kids Simba, Spirit, Sunny, Gizmo, Sandy, and Luna.

For more than a decade, nature lovers watched via an online video feed as Jackie and her partner Shadow tended to their nest each year atop trees near Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles.

The nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley installed the nest camera in 2015 and documented the successes and failures of each breeding season. In 2024, Jackie diligently sat on her eggs for more than two and a half days straight after a winter storm blanketed the nest with snow.

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation’s San Dimas Raptor Rescue team found Jackie on July 17 following reports that the bird had been involved in a fight with two other eagles and was found to be ill.

Jackie had been receiving medical treatment for three weeks at the Ojai Raptor Center, where she was treated for a variety of ailments including anemia. Despite undergoing a blood transfusion and oxygen therapy, her condition worsened and the center announced the animal’s death Monday.

“We know this news will be deeply felt by the many thousands of people around the world who have followed her journey, hoped alongside us, prayed for her, and supported the people caring for her,” the center’s statement said. “Our team is heartbroken. It has been an extraordinary privilege to care for her.”

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is caring for the remains.

Among those who enjoyed monitoring Jackie’s nests from afar was biologist Kelly Sorenson, executive director of the Ventana Wildlife Society in central California. While his group was not involved with the Big Bear eagles, he sees their breeding as emblematic of the comeback the species has made in the state over the past decades.

American bald eagles teetered on the brink of extinction until the pesticide DDT was banned in the 1970s and other protections were established, leading the species to rebound and be removed from the federal endangered list.

“You want to see a success story like that,” Sorenson said Monday. “Having access to a live cam to see the nesting first hand is very powerful. It brings people in on an emotional level.”

[From AP News]

Emotional indeed! As a team, Jackie and Shadow were a model couple who shared the duties of perennially expectant parents. They were often seen fighting over who got to sit on the eggs. It was all playful, of course — until Jackie would finally bite Shadow on the beak, or just lay on top of him until he surrendered the seat. And now, poor Shadow is sitting shiva. It truly cannot be overstated the impact Jackie has had in inviting the world to witness her raw, unvarnished, and downright fraught journey into prospective parenthood. (Yes, Shadow was there too, but this is about Jackie!) And in so doing, her honesty and bravery has allowed others going through the same struggles to feel a little less alone. Sometimes it feels like we’re all in our own isolated treetop nest; Jackie reminded us that we’re more connected than we know.

Our deepest sympathies go out to all of Jackie’s dedicated caretakers — THANK YOU for your service — and especially to Shadow as he navigates the new terrain of eagle widowerhood. Jackie’s memory will most definitely be a blessing. [cue the track of a chirped “Taps” recording]

PS — Friends of Big Bear Valley sells a variety of merch featuring Jackie, Shadow, and their eaglets. Naturally, in the wake of Jackie’s passing many items are selling out and they’ve added a special notice that due to the huge uptick in orders this week, shipping will take six weeks longer than usual. Everyone wants to keep a little piece of Jackie, SOB!