Big Bear Eaglet Names Chosen From 54,000 Entries

BIG BEAR, CA — The growing eaglets born to bonded Big Bear Bald Eagle pair Jackie and Shadow have been named, according to the Friends of Big Bear Valley spokesperson Sandy Steers. "We had over 54,000 names submitted! Some people submitted one name, though many submitted three or even 10, and they all added up," she said.

The Bald Eagle pair laid three eggs in their nest this year. Two of their eaglets have survived nearly one month with their parents. The third hatched, but died during a winter storm. All three are now named, including the one who perished, they said.

"After the wonderful but lengthy process of selecting names for Jackie and Shadow’s adorable chicks, the bigger chick is now named 'Sunny,' and the smaller chick is now named 'Gizmo,'" Steers wrote, offering a big thank you to everyone who participated. The third chick who died was given the name of "Misty," by the Friends of Big Bear Valley.

The chicks are still not quite a month old.

"Sunny is 29 days, 4 hours, 42 minutes, 41 seconds old. The eaglet chick hatched on March 4, around 4:29 a.m. Gizmo is 25 days 2 hours 58 minutes 49 seconds old, hatched on March 8, before 6:13 a.m.," according to a FOBBV naturalist on Youtube. "Misty, the chick who hatched on March 3, at 11:26 p.m., passed away during a winter storm, sometime after March 13, according to the spokesperson."

Both are wearing their "thermal down," dark gray in color, which allows them to thermoregulate even in the subfreezing temperatures, as long as they are dry. They still need their parents to keep them warm and fed in the nest.

The Friends of Big Bear Valley team compiled a list of the top 30 names:

1. Skye
2. Crackle
3. Griffen
4. Cloud
5. Sully
6. Arden
7. Riley
8. Raine
9. Striker
10. Hutch
11. Branch
12. Gizmo
13. Liberty
14. Star
15. Jade
16. Charlie
17. Talon
18. Cloudy
19. Blaze
20. Valor
21. Gilly
22. Jalen
23. Talie
24. Bell
25. Sassfy
26. Passion
27. Swift
28. Destiny
29. Flyer
30. Sunny

"Congratulations to the finalists and the winners!" Steers said. "And most of all, thank you to everyone for caring so much about Jackie and Shadow and their beautiful chicks!"