Behold Sunny and Gizmo: Babies of beloved California bald eagles Jackie and Shadow named
Jackie and Shadow had three eggs this year but one of their three eaglets didn't survive following a March storm. Sunny and Gizmo are thriving and growing bigger and hungrier every day.
LOS ANGELES − The two surviving eaglets of Jackie and Shadow now have names. Meet Sunny and Gizmo.
Friends of Big Bear Valley, the group that maintains the webcam that streams the lives of the eagle family, announced the new names in a post on Facebook on Tuesday.
The group said that over 54,000 names were submitted for the eaglets. Students at Big Bear Valley elementary schools made the final decision on the new names from a list of 30 names, per tradition.
The organization said it will contact those who submitted the chosen names to provide them a certificate of recognition next week
Sunny and Gizmo are the surviving eaglets from Jackie and Shadow's three hatchlings this year. The eaglet that didn't make it died when a snowstorm struck in March and has been named Misty in honor of a volunteer named Kathi Misterly, who died of cancer.
Eagles garner online fandom
Jackie and Shadow gained an online following in the years since the preservation group set up a webcam in Big Bear Lake Forest in 2016, when Jackie lived in the area. Shadow arrived in 2018.
Whether the bald eagles bear progeny has been big drama for followers. Jackie and Shadow welcomed eaglets in 2019 and 2022, but lost eggs in 2023 and 2024.
Friends of Big Bear Valley said that the they included fourth- and fifth-graders to participate in the final vote. Normally the choice goes to third-grade students but the organization said it wanted to make up for the opportunity missed by the children for the eggs that were lost in 2023 and 2024.
Jackie and Shadow's three eggs hatched over a week in early March.
Contributing: Mike Snider, Amanda Lee Myers and Jonathan Limehouse