The Big Bear eagle nest had an unexpected visitor staring straight into the camera Sunday morning. Kaydee and Shadow began August 23 with their voices carrying through the valley before sunrise. Then Kaydee headed to the nest alone, looked around the habitat and eventually appeared to discover something that immediately caught her attention.
The camera.
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She stared toward it, tilted her head one way, then the other, giving eagle watchers one of the lightest moments Big Bear has seen since Jackie’s death. And Kaydee’s morning was not over.
A little later, Shadow appeared on the Lookout Snag. Kaydee was nearby on the Cactus Snag. When Shadow finally took off, Kaydee followed him only seconds later. For a community still missing Jackie, it was the kind of morning where sadness and a little happiness could exist at the same time.
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Shadow and Kaydee Greet Big Bear at Sunrise
Before either eagle appeared at the Big Bear eagle nest, their voices announced that Sunday morning had begun. Shadow and Kaydee exchanged chortles and calls as dawn arrived over Big Bear Valley.
Their morning conversations have become increasingly familiar during Kaydee’s stay in the area. The two eagles have already been seen roosting near one another, sharing familiar perch trees and calling back and forth in the early morning.
This time, however, Kaydee apparently decided she was ready to start her day before Shadow. She left and flew to the nest while Shadow appeared to remain behind at the roost tree. That gave viewers a long, close look at Big Bear’s increasingly familiar visitor.
Kaydee Settles Into the Big Bear Eagle Nest
Kaydee landed in the big bear nest and appeared comfortable spending time there by herself. She looked around the surrounding habitat, shifted positions and performed several crop drops while she remained in the nest. Although the movement can look unusual if you have never seen it before, it is part of an eagle’s digestive process.
What Is a Crop Drop in a Bald Eagle?
Bald eagles have a crop, an expandable section of the esophagus that temporarily stores food. That storage system allows an eagle to eat a large meal when food is available and process it over time. A full crop can sometimes be seen as a noticeable bulge near the lower neck and upper chest.
Eagles have relatively small stomachs compared with the amount of food they can consume, so the crop serves as a temporary holding area. During what Big Bear eagle watchers commonly call a crop drop, a small amount of food moves from the crop farther into the digestive system. Kaydee performed several of those movements as she relaxed in the nest Sunday morning. Then something else caught her attention.
Kaydee Discovers the Nest Camera
Kaydee suddenly focused closely on the camera dome. Whether she noticed her reflection, light on the dome or simply realized that something unusual was sitting near the nest cannot be known from the footage alone.
Whatever caught her eye, her reaction was impossible to miss.
Kaydee stared toward the camera and began tilting her head from side to side. For a few seconds, the young eagle that has spent recent days following Shadow through towering pine trees seemed completely fascinated by the small object watching her from only a few feet away.
It was a tiny moment. Yet after everything that has happened at Big Bear this month, tiny moments can carry surprising weight. Jackie’s death is still painfully recent. The nest, the surrounding trees and Shadow himself are filled with memories for people who followed Jackie for years.
Kaydee cannot replace any of that. She does not need to. Seeing Kaydee curiously investigate the camera does not erase the sadness surrounding Jackie. It simply leaves room for something else beside it. A smile.
Shadow Appears and Kaydee Is Nearby Again
Kaydee eventually left the nest to continue her morning elsewhere in the habitat. Not long afterward, Shadow came into view on the Lookout Snag. And Kaydee was not far away.
She was perched around the Cactus Snag, partly hidden behind pine branches. That has become one of the most interesting parts of watching these two eagles. Kaydee keeps turning up near Shadow.
Sometimes they occupy the same tree. Other times they sit on separate nearby perches. They have roosted near one another, shared morning calls and visited the nest together. Then came another little detail Sunday morning.
Shadow left. Just a few seconds later, Kaydee went after him. It was not the first time observers have seen that pattern. Earlier this week, Kaydee also followed almost immediately after Shadow departed the Twin Pines. She certainly seems interested in knowing where he is going. Exactly why is something only the eagles can answer right now.
Is Kaydee Becoming Shadow’s New Mate?
That question is becoming harder for eagle watchers to ignore, but it is still much too early to answer. Kaydee has now repeatedly returned to Shadow’s territory. She has visited the nest, perched near him, roosted nearby, exchanged morning calls with him and even followed him from perch to perch.
Those observations make their developing relationship fascinating to watch. They do not prove that a permanent pair bond has formed. For now, the cameras are showing the beginning of something without revealing where it will lead. And perhaps that uncertainty is part of what makes every new morning worth watching.
Jackie Is Still Part of the Big Bear Story
There is no clean line separating what came before from what happens next at this nest. Jackie spent years beside Shadow. They built nests, defended their territory, raised young and created countless moments that people around the world watched unfold in real time.
Her absence remains enormous. Kaydee arriving in Big Bear does not close that chapter or diminish what Jackie meant. Nature simply continues moving. And lately, Kaydee keeps moving through the same landscape.
The nest.
Twin Pines.
The Roost Tree.
The Cactus Snag.
Morning calls with Shadow.
Flights behind Shadow.
And now, one very close inspection of the camera that has allowed millions of people to look into this wild corner of Big Bear Valley.
One Head Tilt, Then Back to Eagle Business
Sunday morning started with two eagle voices echoing through Big Bear. It continued with Kaydee alone in the nest, looking over the habitat before suddenly turning her attention toward the camera.
A tilt to one side. Then the other. And before long, she was gone again. Shadow eventually took flight from his perch, and Kaydee followed only seconds behind him. No one can say yet what these two bald eagles will become to one another. There is no need to decide today.
For now, Shadow has company. Kaydee keeps coming back. And after a month that has brought the Big Bear eagle community tremendous sadness, one curious young eagle managed to make an ordinary Sunday morning feel a little lighter.
The next chapter has not been written.
But Kaydee certainly keeps showing up for it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kaydee the same eagle as KD1?
Yes. Kaydee is the name now being used for KD1, the banded young bald eagle who has been spending increasing amounts of time around Shadow and the Big Bear eagle habitat.
Why was Kaydee tilting her head at the nest camera?
Kaydee appeared fascinated by the camera dome during her August 23 visit to the Big Bear nest. She may have noticed a reflection, light or simply an unfamiliar object. The footage cannot tell us exactly what caught her attention, but her repeated head tilts gave viewers an unusually close look at her curious behavior.
What is a crop drop in a bald eagle?
A bald eagle’s crop is an expandable part of the esophagus that temporarily stores food. During what eagle watchers call a crop drop, some of that stored food moves farther into the digestive system. Kaydee performed several of these movements while relaxing in the Big Bear nest.
Is Kaydee becoming Shadow’s new mate?
It is still too early to know. Kaydee has repeatedly spent time near Shadow, visited the big bear nest, roosted nearby, exchanged calls with him and followed him between perches. Those behaviors make their developing relationship interesting to watch, but they do not yet prove that a permanent pair bond has formed.
Why did Kaydee follow Shadow when he flew away?
No one can know exactly why Kaydee followed Shadow. What makes the moment interesting is that it fits a pattern viewers have now seen more than once. Kaydee continues staying close to Shadow and moving through many of the same areas of the Big Bear habitat. Whether that eventually develops into a lasting pair bond remains to be seen.