Great Egg-spectations: When Eagles Nest, the Internet Holds Its Breath

Eggs and Expectation Are in the Air at Big Bear. The Great Big Bear Baby Watch.

Here are the official live cam links you can use to watch the Big Bear Valley eagles (Jackie & Shadow) and the U.S. Steel Irvin Plant bald eagles live:

Big Bear Valley Eagles (Jackie & Shadow)

Jackie and Shadow

If nesting were a sport, Jackie and Shadow just entered the playoffs as they’re pancaking the nest, cuddling more, and acting suspiciously domestic… eagle eggs incoming and we’re all watching.

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Big Bear Bald Eagle Live Nest & Wide View (YouTube – FOBBV CAM)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/@FOBBVCAM/streams — 24/7 live views of Jackie and Shadow’s nest and activity from both Cam 1 and Cam 2.

If the official Friends of Big Bear Valley livestream page is needed:
🔗 https://friendsofbigbearvalley.org/livestream/ — shows links to both live cameras.

🦅 U.S. Steel Bald Eagle Cam (Irvin Plant, Pittsburgh area)

U. S. Steel Bald Eagle Nest Cam 1 (PixCams)
🔗 https://pixcams.com/uss-eagles/ — official live camera for the bald eagle nest at the U.S. Steel Mon Valley Works – Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, PA.

U.S. Steel Bald Eagle Cam on YouTube (alternate angles)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=U.S.+Steel+Bald+Eagle+Cam — search results with live or archived nest camera views.

Why Don’t We Do it?

Let’s fall in love…

Last year’s eagle season, and why this year feels different

Last year gave us two unforgettable eagle stories, and both left their mark on everyone watching.

At the U.S. Steel Irvin Plant, the drama was almost Shakespearean. Claire, a longtime resident who had nested there for at least six seasons and successfully hatched eggs before, was suddenly ousted by a younger rival, Stella. That shook people because bald eagles normally mate for life. What viewers were watching was not just a territorial dispute, but the breakup of a familiar, long-standing bond.

Stella went on to claim the nest with Irvin and lay eggs, but the emotional whiplash of seeing Claire pushed out never really faded. For many of us, it felt like watching a beloved character written out of a long-running show.

At the same time, over in Big Bear Valley, we were living a very different kind of rollercoaster.

Jackie laid and hatched three eggs, and the season immediately became one of those rare moments where thousands of people across the world seemed to breathe in sync. We gasped together when she nearly knocked one eaglet out of the nest. We leaned forward when tiny heads started appearing. We melted when one especially curious eaglet kept poking his head out from under dad’s chest.

Then came the storm…

An unexpected snowfall took that inquisitive little one, and it broke a lot of hearts. It was the kind of quiet loss that hits harder than drama ever could, because it reminds you how fragile these lives are.

But two eaglets survived. We watched them eat their first awkward “sushi” meals, grow into strong, gangly teenagers, and finally spread their wings and leave the nest. It was joy after grief, which somehow made it feel even sweeter.

And just when we thought we had processed enough for one season, the Hays bald eagle nest collapsed, another reminder that even when there is no villain, nature can still be ruthless. Seeing that nest go down was devastating, especially for those who had followed it for years.

The good news is that Hays has been rebuilt up the river about a half a mile or so in Glen Hazel. Sticks have been stacked again. The platform is standing. Life, stubborn and persistent, found a way back.

So now we’re here again.

At Big Bear, Jackie and Shadow are fluffing the nest bowl, rearranging sticks, and spending more time together. At Hays, there is finally a place to lay again. At Irvin, a new chapter has already begun.

We are hopeful, but we are also wiser than we were a year ago.

We know how quickly things can change. We know how much it hurts when they do. And that makes this season, this new round of eggspectation, feel even more precious.

So we watch again. Carefully. Tenderly. And with our hearts just a little more open.