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Big Bear’s beloved bald eagle chicks have new names. They’ll be officially known as Sunny and Gizmo, Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV), the nonprofit that runs the popular YouTube livestream of the nest, announced late Tuesday. 54,000 name choices were crowdsourced in a week-long fundraiser for FOBBV, which closed Friday.
But the final decision was left up to Big Bear Valley elementary school students, who voted from 30 finalists on official ballots delivered by the nonprofit earlier in the day. "We’re thrilled by how excited people were for the chance to name these two adorable chicks, and the Big Bear elementary students had tons of fun voting for their favorite names” said Sandy Steers, executive director of FOBBV, in a statement. “All the students have been learning about Jackie and Shadow and their chicks.
It was great to add a little reward for all their hard work.” As a reminder, the chick that died in a strong snowstorm last month has been named “Misty.” FOBBV named the eaglet after one of their late volunteers who is “still very missed,” the organization previously shared .
Sunny and Gizmo were initially dubbed Chick 2 and Chick 3 for their hatching order. But when Chick 1 died, the nonprofit temporarily renamed them to Bigger Chick and Smaller Chick (which some fans affectionately nicknamed Biggie and Smalls). Sunny is four weeks old as of Tuesday, with Gizmo just a few days behind.
They’re still a bit wobbly as they get steady on their growing feet, but they’re no longer small spots of fluff in the bottom of the nest. They’ve multiplied in size — from roughly a few ounces to five to seven pounds, according to FOBBV. Layers of feathers are growing in and their beaks are starting to look like they could do some serious damage during their regular meals of fish and coot.
After they reach about 8 weeks old, the eaglets may start exploring the nest more, perching on various branches in their tall Jeffrey pine tree overlooking Big Bear Lake. When they’re about 9 to 10 weeks old, FOBBV can start to look for signs that point to their sex, such as their leg size, beak and vocal pitch. Female eagles are larger than males, but the only way to know the gender for sure would be through a DNA test, which is unlikely.
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