Update, June 7, 2025, 11:32 a.m. EST: Gizmo has joined sister Sunny in officially fledging. At 90 days old, Gizmo took flight for the first time by tumbling out of the nest. The Friends of Big Bear Valley cameras caught Gizmo flapping her wings and taking off at 8:27 a.m. PDT. She was then spotted perched on a nearby tree.
Original story (June 2) continues below:
An eaglet has left the nest. On June 2 at 10:46 a.m. PDT, an eaglet named Sunny officially fledged and left the nest that she has shared with her younger sister Gizmo and parents Jackie and Shadow since hatching in March. Gizmo is expected to follow along at any time.Â
Young eagles like Sunny (88-days-old) and Gizmo (84-days-old) typically fledge when they can flatten their wings and have feathers capable of flight. This typically occurs when the birds hit 10 to 14 weeks of age.Â
Over the past several weeks, Sunny and Gizmo have shown that they can feed themselves and spent their first night alone on the nest on May 8. The pair had also been flapping vigorously to build up their strength to take to the skies. Sunny had even started hopping up onto the edges of the nest, in what looked to be preparation for flight.
According to Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV), the nonprofit organization that monitors the webcams 24 hours a day, Sunny and Gizmo are likely both females.Â
“They are both gaining strength and more confidence daily as they continue to make new and exciting discoveries,” FOBBV wrote on Facebook. “We have seen their innocent, fun, playful, and loving sides, as well as their more fierce, aggressive, stronger sides… which makes for a wonderful balance.”
Thousands of viewers from all over the world have been following their journey via a 24-hour livecam for the past several years. The journey as of late has been an emotional rollercoaster. After three eggs failed to hatch in 2024, three eggs appeared in the nest earlier this year. Chick 1 hatched late on March 3, followed by Chick 2 (aka Sunny) early on March 4, and Chick 3 (aka Gizmo) on March 8. On the evening of March 13, a snowstorm hit the area, dumping up to two feet of snow and pummeling the nest with strong winds. On the morning of March 14, only two of the chicks were visible on the live cam. FOBBV later confirmed the passing of one of the chicks. FOBBV believes that Chick 1 died based on foot size and the amount of thermal down feathers on the other two eaglets. The deceased chick has since been named Misty in honor of Kathi Misterly, an FOBBV volunteer who passed away after a battle with cancer.
In early April, a group of students from a local elementary school voted on the names Sunny and Gizmo in early April. They’re now estimated to be about 3 feet tall at this stage, closer to dad Shadow’s height. As with most female eagles, Jackie is larger.
Sunny and Gizmo will not be tagged, so tracking their post-fledging journey won’t be easy. Identifying eagles is “usually done by vocals and observing bonding behavior,” FOBBV explains. For the next three months or so, the sisters will stay near Big Bear Lake to learn to fish and hunt with their parents’ help. According the the US Fish & Wildlife Service, 70 percent of fledged eaglets survive their first year. Their biggest threats come from disease, food supplies, weather, and human interference.
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