FOBBV ~ SHADOW BRINGS FISH TO NEST & GIVES PEAL CALLS TO KAYDEE! NO SHARING SQUABBLE ON NEST 9.16.26

Shadow & Kaydee have been engaging in preliminary bonding over the course of the past month since Jackie has passed away. Their bonding is limited at this stage because it is off season and normal eagle bonding, nest building and mating behaviors depend on the seasonal changes that will trigger hormone production. Although mating between established pairs occurs year round, it is only during the female's fertile window (usually two weeks in length) that eggs are laid. Daylight length, or photoperiod, strongly influences hormone production in birds. In Big Bear, the breeding season is December through March. Prior to this, nest building occurs with both partners actively bringing in sticks and nesting material in preparation for eggs. Males will bring fish gifts to the female when they are actively nest building and /or eggs are being laid. In the off season, the males do not have the hormonal triggers to provide food to the female. Today Shadow brought a fish to the nest and Kaydee was following him. She remained on the front porch as Shadow was emitting peal calls for several minutes after landing on the nest. A peal call is a series of high pitched & prolonged warning calls that are a form of eagle communication. In this instance, Shadow had no desire to give up his fish to Kaydee and his peal calls relaid that information for her to keep her distance from the fish. Kaydee respected his boundaries and only entered the nest after Shadow consumed the fish. Kaydee will pull Shadow's feathers being playful but Shadow did not like that and it causes a little squabble on the nest between them. There is a bit of a false narrative floating around the eagle community that eagles share food. Bald eagles are apex raptors that survive only on the food they can catch or steal from someone else. Humans tend to think that eagles should share their prey with their mate because they attribute human emotions like sharing is caring to them. Normally what happens on nests is one eagle eats until they are full and then walks away - letting the other eagle eat the remainder on the nest. Shadow was not interested in sharing his fish with Kaydee or any other eagle. There was no "food gift" being brought in to the nest as there are no eggs or eaglets to feed. Eagles understand this far better than us humans watching them eating on the nest. When the season changes & hormones are triggered for mate selection, courtship, nest building and mating, then the male will bring food to the nest to be eaten by the female and/or eaglets. Kaydee is only 4.5 years old and she has not laid eggs before so this will be her first breeding season. It is a privilege to be able to see if Shadow and Kaydee become mates and if eggs will be laid and eaglets hatch. It is a new beginning for them and hopefully they will become a strong couple and allow us to watch their journey together. Thank you for watching! TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Long morning chortles Shadow Kaydee in RT 02:30 Shadow brings a fish to nest - peal calls to Kaydee 09:06 Kaydee to nest after Shadow ate the fish 13:49 Kaydee pulls Shadow's feathers - squabble on nest For those wanting to learn more about Kaydee (KD1's) background watch "INTRODUCING KD1 THE SUB ADULT EAGLE VISITING BIG BEAR & JACKIE & SHADOW'S NEST! WHAT WE KNOW" 8.13.26 🎥    • INTRODUCING KD1 THE SUB ADULT EAGLE VISITI...   Jackie is forever in our hearts ♥ Original live video courtesy of ‪@FOBBVCAM‬ https://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.org/ The opinions presented on this channel do not necessarily reflect the opinions of FOBBV Video captured & edited by Lady Hawk Credits: National Eagle Center Rousing 101 Male Eagle: Shadow (unbanded) Estimated hatch year 2014 Female Eagle: Jackie (unbanded) Estimated hatch year 2012 2026 Highlights: Egg #1 laid on 1/23/26 at 16:32:24PM Egg #2 laid on 1/26/26 at 17:09:24PM Egg #1 & Egg #2 were breached by Ravens on 1/30/26 at 15:25PM `````````````````````````` Egg #1 of 2nd clutch laid on 2/24/26 at 14:29:38PM Egg #2 of 2nd clutch laid on 2/27/26 at 17:55:33PM Chick 1 hatched on 4/4/26 at 21:33:35PM Day 39 - named Sandy Chick 2 hatched on 4/5/26 at 08:30:45AM Day 37- Easter Sunday! Named Luna Sandy accidental fledge 6/28/26 Day 84 Luna fledge 6/29/26 at 09:24:43 - Day 85 Jackie passes away on 8/10/26 at age 14.