Fans of nature will want their extra screens to be tuned into live cameras pointed at a bald eagle’s nest in the mountains of Southern California this week as three eagle chicks are expected to hatch soon.
The 24-hour livestream shows the nest more than 145 feet above a Jeffery Pine tree in the San Bernardino Mountains, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that owns and operates the cameras.
The stream has had a consistent viewership of tens of thousands of people since news of the soon-to-be parents broke.
The female bird, Jackie, and the male, Shadow, have been tending to their three eggs since they were laid in late January. The baby chicks are expected anytime in the coming days, leading to non-stop coverage.
Friends of Big Bear Valley have been providing live updates, which include vocalizations from the birds of prey and daily recaps on their social media channels.
“As the chick reaches maximum size inside the egg, the amount of oxygen supplied through the egg membranes becomes insufficient. Sitting comfortably inside the egg is no longer an option, it’s time to go and do some hard work!” Friends of Big Bear Valley wrote in an update on Facebook last week.
Now viewers are being told to look out for the “pip,” or first crack in the eggshell, a sign that the chick is ready to emerge.
But if you’re worried about missing it, don’t be, as the nonprofit shared that hatching takes, on average, one to three days and is a “very strenuous process.”
“It is a major test for the chick,” the nonprofit shared.