After Big Bear added two bald eagles earlier this week, a third eaglet is on its way.

The third egg has a visible pip, or crack in the shell created by the young bird inside trying to make its way out, said Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley.

“It’s got a little hole, and it’s big enough that we’ve seen a little movement inside,” she said. “Fingers crossed for it getting out safely.”

Adult eagles Jackie and Shadow have been feeding the two eaglets already out of their shells, and they appear to be growing stronger.

With the head-start the two eaglets have on their newest sibling, the youngest will have to compete for food, though it will likely get easier once the other two are fed, Steers said.

“The bigger ones, they can only take so much food, and Jackie and Shadow will keep feeding. So, once they get full, they kind of slump over from too much eating, and then they can feed the third one,” she said. “They will continue feeding until that third one gets enough.

The youngest eaglet will also benefit from having two older siblings who are a tougher match for each other.

“They will be busy competing with each other, so they might just kind of ignore that one, and that means it will be safe and able to take care of itself and get everything from Jackie and Shadow,” she said.

It will likely be several weeks before the sex of the eaglets can be established.

The names of the eaglets will be decided by a naming contest put on by Friends of Big Bear Valley.

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