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Nonprofit launches naming contest for the latest eaglets hatched in the famed Big Bear eagles’ nest

April 17, 2026

The search to name Big Bear’s two newest viral eaglet stars has begun.

The hatchlings for Eagle parents Jackie and Shadow debuted on April 4 and 5. Their emergence from their eggs was captured by a 24/7 web camera installed and operated by the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley, and met with online jubilation.

Now a naming contest is underway and proposed names should be gender-neutral.

Jenny Voisard, media manager with Friends of Big Bear Valley, said the gender of eaglets won’t be determined until eight or nine weeks after hatching.

“We can tell by their size, because females will grow bigger than males, and we can look at things like their ankles, and then their voices will have a different pitch. So for the contest, we won’t know their gender. We’re asking for names that would work for either a male or female,” Voisard said by phone.

The nonprofit is giving the public the opportunity to submit naming nominations for the two baby birds in the contest. There are three ways to submit a name for consideration: submit a $5 donation for one name entry, $10 for three and $25 for 10. The deadline to submit a donation for a name entry or entries closes at 11:59 p.m., Sunday, April 26.

Besides keeping names gender-neutral, the nonprofit asks that no entries with explicit or derogatory language be submitted, as they will be filtered out.

All donations will help support the nonprofit’s livestream operations, which have monitored the eagles’ nest for more than a decade.

Once submissions are closed, a computer program will randomly select 30 names to pass along to a group of Big Bear third graders to vote on the eaglets’ names.

The naming process was special to Sandy Steers, the former executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, who was instrumental in raising awareness of environmental advocacy in the region, including streaming the daily happenings of Jackie and Shadow. The first camera was installed in October 2015, and a second in 2021. Steers died on Feb. 11.

“It is a right of passage for the Big Bear third graders to name the chicks. This was one of Sandy’s greatest joys, and we want to honor that important tradition,” said Voisard in a press release.

Last year, Big Bear Valley Elementary students selected the names of Jackie and Shadow’s 2025 season’s chicks, Sunny and Gizmo. Students selected names after 54,000 entries were submitted by the public, according to the nonprofit.

Since the first camera’s installation on a branch where Jackie and Shadow’s nest resides, the birds have become a global phenomenon. The Friends group has roughly 2.4 million social media followers, including more than 1 million on its main Facebook page.

Once the votes are cast and tallied, the Friends of Big Bear Valley will announce Jackie and Shadow’s new chick names on its website and social media channels.

Friends of Big Bear Valley will send a certificate of recognition to the person who submitted the winning name.

For more information, visit friendsofbigbearvalley.org/naming-contest

Orange County Register

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Nonprofit launches naming contest for the latest eaglets hatched in the famed Big Bear eagles’ nest

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