Kaydee landed in the Big Bear nest and immediately went to work on the sticks. Shadow watched from nearby, but when she turned her attention to him, things got beaky.
Kaydee turned Sunday morning at the Big Bear nest into a moment eagle fans needed. After discovering the camera and delivering some unforgettable head tilts, she took off just seconds behind Shadow.
After days of nest visits, close roosts, preening and morning duets, Shadow and Kaydee have reached a new point. A raptor biologist who helped band Kaydee now says the Big Bear eagles appear to be forming a pair bond.
Shadow chortled into the Big Bear morning, and this time another eagle answered. After spending the night close together, Shadow and KD1 greeted the dawn with a duet that made an already remarkable new pattern even harder to ignore.
KD1 returned beneath the Big Bear nest for a second straight day, but the most intriguing moment came after sunset when KD1 and Shadow settled into the same roost tree.
Shadow returned to the Big Bear nest after three weeks, and KD1 followed him in. Then one gentle moment changed the feeling of the entire visit.
Hours after Jackie died, KD1 did something never seen before: the banded young eagle landed in Jackie and Shadow’s nest, then ended the night near Shadow.
Jackie, Big Bear’s beloved bald eagle and Shadow’s longtime mate, died August 10 after more than three weeks of intensive care. Her life leaves a legacy far beyond the nest.
Shadow and banded eagle KD1 spent Sunday morning moving through Big Bear before sharing the Twin Pines and exchanging vocals. Then the rain started, while questions swirled about what KD1’s continued presence really means.
Jackie came through anesthesia after a contrast CT scan and bone marrow biopsy, but the most difficult part now begins: waiting for the tests to reveal what has kept the Big Bear eagle so ill.