Big Bear bald eagle chicks growing fast as they prepare for major milestone

A pair of fuzzy bald eagle chicks are close to reaching a major milestone in their lives, with signs that they are preparing for their first flight out of the nest since they hatched earlier this year.

The chicks are the offspring of the world-famous Big Bear Valley Bald eagle couple Jackie and Shadow whose live cam perched high in the Southern California San Bernardino mountains is watched by fans across the world.

On Wednesday, one of the baby birds, either Luna or Sandy, was captured on the cam attempting to take flight, by hopping from one side of the nest to the other while flapping its wings, a sure sign that they are preparing to leave the nest and take flight.

The pre-flight actions which include the hopping and rapid flapping are all necessary steps that the young chicks must do to ensure that their muscles are strong enough to survive in the wild.

These actions typically occur about a week to 10 days before fledgling-growing their feathers for flight and leaving the nest-happens as they begin practicing to fly, with short flights from branches in the tree where their nest is located, per the Audubon Society.

The two fuzzy internet stars hatched over Easter weekend, putting them just over 9 weeks old. A bird’s typical fledgling starts anywhere from 10-14 weeks, so they could fly any day now.

“Their bone structure and foot pads are fully grown,” a message on the Big Bear Valley webpage read.

“Their feathers will continue to fill in and grow, their beaks will grow slightly bigger, and they will put on a bit more weight over the next few weeks.”

One of the baby chicks was named in honor of Sandy Steers, longtime Big Bear Valley executive director and fierce protector of the eagles’ habitat, who died in February.

Friends of Big Bear Valley said Sandy was the most popular submission, appearing 3,706 times out of 63,915 total entries.

“Although Sandy would not have wanted us to outright name one of the eaglets Sandy, she would have been honored that you and the students went through the process,” the organization said.

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Chick 1, the larger and more submissive eaglet, received the name Sandy with 30 student votes, while Chick 2, considered smaller and more aggressive, was named Luna with 25 votes.

The group has said, at this point, they believe Luna is a male and Sandy is a female.

“Brother and sister living their best lives under the care of their wonderful parents, Jackie and Shadow,” a message on the group’s page read.

Fans submitted names after their births, with donations supporting the conservation group’s habitat preservation efforts.

The nonprofit recently launched a major fundraising push to protect the birds’ Moon Camp habitat from future luxury development near Big Bear Valley, raising $3.2 million, but said the fundraising efforts continue.