Juvenile bald eagle Luna takes first flight from Big Bear nest cam

Luna took his first flight from the Big Bear bald eagle nest at 9:24:43 a.m. on June 29, gliding to the Simba tree where Shadow was waiting. The juvenile’s clean departure came one day after sibling Sandy made an accidental fledge from the same nest.

Both eaglets were about 12 weeks old, right in the range when bald eagle fledglings typically leave the nest at 10 to 14 weeks. Sandy’s fall from the nest’s front porch area at about 11:30 a.m. on June 28 did not appear to slow the family down; Jackie and Shadow would continue to care for her.

The nest has been under continuous watch through a live stream built for public viewing, not profit. The feed runs free of advertisements and monetization, 24/7/365, and Friends of Big Bear Valley installed the first U.S. bald eagle nest cam at altitude in 2015 before adding a wide-view camera in 2021. The camera system was designed with the U.S. Forest Service and the Institute for Wildlife Studies to be safe for wildlife, humans and the environment.

The Big Bear Lake eagle habitat is an ecological corridor that supports rare and endangered plants, flying squirrels, migrating birds, waterfowl and fish, the prey base Jackie and Shadow need to raise chicks. It sits less than one mile from the proposed Moon Camp shoreline development, which Friends of Big Bear Valley says could affect the pair’s foraging area.

After Luna’s flight, Sandy was spotted not far from the nest in a sheltered area of the headless tree. Jackie, Shadow and the chicks can still reunite to eat, sleep or simply stay together.