Bald eagle lays her first egg of 2020 in San Bernardino National Forest
Just after Wednesday’s sunset, Big Bear National Forest’s resident bald eagle laid her first egg of the new year.
It took roughly five minutes for the bald eagle named Jackie to lay the egg. A video camera installed by Friends of Big Bear Valley captured footage from the nest showing the bird rolling the egg around before settling back into the nest as a chilly wind blew through the trees.
Her mate, Shadow, also was present.
“Based on nest-cam observations of their behavior over the past two nesting seasons, we expect to see Jackie doing the bulk of the incubation,” San Bernardino National Forest tweeted. “She’s never let Shadow incubate overnight or during big storms.”
The incubation period for the egg to hatch is roughly 35 days after the second egg is laid, which is expected to occur in one day’s time. At that rate, the chick could have a Valentine’s Day-adjacent birthday.
Those interested in keeping tabs on the process can watch the live-camera footage on YouTube.
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