The first eggs laid by a pair of bald eagles in California’s Big Bear Valley are unlikely to survive or hatch, an eagle expert said Thursday.
Sandy Steers, a giant bear eagle expert, told KTLA that the first egg was laid 38 days ago, which is longer than a bald eagle egg typically takes to hatch before it hatches.
Stiles said other eggs may still be healthy and continue to hatch.
An eagle family has attracted national attention as the hatching of new chicks approaches. Viewers watch via nest cameras as the birds care for a clutch of eggs.
In January, the mother bald eagle, named Jackie, laid three eggs in a tree overlooking Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains.
For more than a month, she has been caring for the eggs, keeping them warm even as winter storms brought snow to the area.
Friends of Big Bear Valley, which installed nest cameras in 2015, told The Associated Press that Jackie once spent nearly 62 hours straight incubating her eggs. However, the father, known as “Shadow,” is also found caring for the eggs.
This is the second year in a row that Jackie and Shadow are hoping to have offspring. According to reports, the eggs Jackie laid last year did not develop into chicks.
The bald eagle is the only eagle native to North America and has experienced a renaissance in recent decades. In 1978 they were declared an endangered species. Wildlife conservation efforts have helped increase the number of wild animals.
The federal government says there are more than 315,000 bald eagles, including 71,000 nesting pairs. The increase in numbers allowed officials to remove the bald eagles from the endangered species list.
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