Great Egg-spectations: When Eagles Nest, the Internet Holds Its Breath
Is This the Start of a 2nd Clutch?
Well butter my biscuits and call me emotional… Jackie and Shadow are back with a second clutch after the heartbreak of a non-viable first set earlier this season. 2/26/2026
Jackie and Shadow have laid a second clutch after their first set of eggs was believed to be non-viable earlier this season. While ravens did breach the first nest, they were doing what nature designed them to do. It was a difficult moment to watch, but part of the natural balance between scavengers and raptors. This new clutch offers a renewed chance for a successful hatch this spring.
Egg-citing news! Three Days Later… The Family Pack Is Official
Clutch upgraded to a two-egg suite.
Stella just delivered another Daddy’s Little Dividend — now Irv’s sitting on a two-egg portfolio and hoping for a strong hatch yield by late March.
On February 23rd, Stella said, “You know what this nest needs? Another egg.”
And just like that — Clutch 2: The Sequel dropped right on schedule.
Bald eagles usually space their eggs about three days apart, which means this wasn’t a surprise… unless you’re Irv, who now has to split brooding duties like a dad learning the baby monitor app for the first time.
With two eggs tucked under her like priceless Fabergé groceries in this economy, incubation just got real. From here on out, Stella and Irv will take shifts keeping things warm, gently rotating the merchandise, and side-eyeing any nest intruders who didn’t RSVP.
Now begins the most thrilling phase of all:
✨ Sitting. Waiting. More sitting. ✨
What This Means for Hatch Season
Bald eagle eggs typically hatch after about 35 days of incubation.
So if things stay on track, we could start seeing tiny beaks punching air holes (a.k.a. pipping) in late March.
Until then, it’s less Game of Thrones and more two adults sitting on eggs like their tax refund depends on it.
Egg-cellent News US Steel Irvin Eagles
Stella settles in with Egg #1 at the Irvin nest. The season has begun.
Egg #1 has arrived at U.S. Steel’s Irvin nest — a new chapter for 2026, the same Pittsburgh heart that still misses Claire. Egg watch is ON! Irvin and Stella delivered. Pittsburgh showed up.
In the 2025 Irvin Works season, Stella laid two eggs — and one eaglet named Ocho survived to fledge.
Which is actually very typical. Bald eagles often lay two eggs, but due to hatch timing (the first chick gets a size/strength advantage), food availability, weather, or sibling competition, it’s common for only one to make it to fledging in some seasons.
That’s why folks are already watching this first 2026 egg so closely.
Hays Bald Eagles Out on a Limb
From collapse to comeback: the Hays eagles have re-established their nest in Glen Hazel.
Hays-Glen Hazel Bald Eagle and 1st Egg of the New Build
They’ve got GPS coordinates, a nest ID, and a live cam… but still no names. If this egg hatches, are we really about to welcome Thing One to Pittsburgh?
Eagle news: Don’t call it a comeback… After losing their nest last year, the Hays eagles didn’t pack it in or fly south for better real estate. They rebuilt upriver in Glen Hazel, because that’s what you do in da ‘Burgh. Now, with their comeback nest complete, the first egg of the 2026 season has officially arrived and incubation is underway. From collapse to comeback, they are back on the clock.
2/25/2026
In other eagle news…After losing their nest last year, the Hays eagles didn’t leave. They rebuilt upriver in Glen Hazel — because that’s what you do in da ‘Burgh! From collapse to comeback: the Hays eagles have re-established their nest in Glen Hazel and are back on the clock. 2/21/2026
HORRENDOUS NEWS UPDATE: For those following the Big Bear Valley Eagles closely, the eggs appeared to be nonviable, with at least one visibly cracked. Jackie and Shadow then seemed to abandon the nest, and only after that did the ravens move in to clean up! It is still early in the season. Could they try again? Stay tuned.
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In Indigenous tradition, Raven is not a thief of life but a keeper of thresholds, the one who arrives when a story has ended and must be closed cleanly. When an eagle’s egg will never hatch, Raven does not come to mourn or to steal what is still sacred; Raven comes to prevent rot, to remove what would draw danger, sickness, or lingering harm. Like a mortician of the wild, Raven touches death without being claimed by it, ensuring that what failed does not poison what may yet return. Eagle stands for power and continuity; Raven stands for process and correction. Together, they remind us that not every ending needs ceremony—some need only respect, timing, and the wisdom to know when it is time to let the nest be ready again.
UPDATE to the UPDATE: OMG! JACKIE & SHADOW HAVE A SECOND EGG! Jackie, that lil fertile Myrtle has done it again. Could there be a 3rd egg in the running? She did the deed last year. 1/27/2026
I Spy Egg #2
Why that lil fertile Myrtle…
EGG-CITING NEWS OUT OF BIG BEAR VALLEY. Jackie’s first egg is here. One small, beautiful egg. This just in:
Jackie has laid her first egg — and thousands of us held our breath at once. 1/23/2026
Jackie’s First Egg of 2026
Check out the live cam links below. Welcome the new addition.
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.
Fair Use Disclaimer: This content may contain copyrighted material used for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research under the Fair Use provision of copyright law. Such use is not intended to infringe upon copyright.
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 it felt like we had processed enough for one season, the Hays bald eagle nest collapsed — a sobering reminder that even without a villain, nature can still be ruthless. Watching that nest go down was devastating, especially for those who had followed it for years.
The good news is that the Hays pair didn’t disappear. They rebuilt across the Monongahela River in the Glen Hazel area, about half a mile upriver. Sticks have been stacked again. The platform is standing. Life — stubborn and persistent — found its way back.
Hays Eagle Pair
They rebuilt across the Monongahela River in the Glen Hazel area, about half a mile upriver.
The nest itself isn’t publicly accessible, but the best known viewing spot is from the Costco back lot in West Homestead, which offers a clear line of sight across the river.
For the closest view, there’s also a live nest cam available here:
https://pixcams.com/hays-bald-eagle-nest/
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.