Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam viewers watched Sunday as one of the nest’s two eaglets, Sandy, accidentally fell through multiple lower branches before flying to another tree. Friends of Big Bear Valley says Sandy hasn’t returned to the nest yet, though it’s likely s
For Sunday morning, the Friends of Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam audience got the kind of scene that makes people rush to their phones and then immediately regret it.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m., one of the two famous eaglets—later identified as Sandy—was flapping her wings on a branch just outside the nest. She lost her footing and fell to a lower branch, then another, and then another, before flying to another tree.
“I about had a heart attack,” viewer Christie Schultz posted on the FOBBV Facebook page. “Sandy hung there for about 7 min upside down, then dropped all the way with wings spread.”
The footage left the nest’s online community in suspense, and the question quickly turned to whether the young bird would be all right. Jenny Voisard, media manager of Friends of Big Bear Valley, said she saw the event on the security camera.
“We have a security camera, and we saw footage of her flying to another tree,” Voisard said. “We haven’t picked her up yet, but she’s probably just resting.”
Voisard described Sandy’s move as a “fludge,” a term used in eagle circles for an early, imperfect takeoff—one that doesn’t look graceful at first, but still counts as the bird’s first venture into flight. She said an eagle’s inaugural flight is stressful and can drain energy.
“It could be a little bit, but hopefully, she’ll come back to the nest,” Voisard said.
Sandy and her sibling, Luna, hatched in April, and millions watched as they arrived in the world. It typically takes baby eagles 10 to 14 weeks to fledge. and in recent days. viewers had been seeing the younger eagles practice their wing flapping—signs they were getting close to making their first official flights.
Once eaglets make that first real move away from the nest, their parents—Jackie and Shadow—go to them and feed them where they are. Sandy and Luna will remain dependent on Jackie and Shadow for several more weeks as they learn how to live outside the nest and gather their own food.
For now, Sandy’s absence from the nest is the hardest part for those watching at home. Voisard said the pair will remain nearby for weeks until they master flying and, equally important, landing. Only once they can survive on their own. she said. do they become nomadic and explore for the first five years of their lives.
The viewers’ attention has been split between the siblings for some time, too. Voisard noted that everyone expected Luna to go first because he was a boy and develops faster—but Sandy’s timing tells a different story.
“Everyone was saying Luna was going to go first, because he was a boy, and they develop faster,” Voisard said. “But Sandy was like, ‘I don’t think so.’”
Sandy was named in honor of the late Sandy Steers, longtime biologist and the eagle’s live camera executive director.
Big Bear eagle nest cam Friends of Big Bear Valley Sandy the eaglet first flight fludge Jackie and Shadow wildlife