Viral bald eaglets get ready to fly
Viral eaglets Sunny and Gizmo are getting ready for flight!
According to the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley, which operates 24/7 live streams of Sunny, Gizmo, and their parents Jackie and Shadow, the eaglets are about 10 weeks old, the age at which they start to fledge, or get their feathers and leave the nest for the first time.
In a Facebook video post, the nonprofit said Sunny and Gizmo, who live in Big Bear Valley in Southern California's San Bernardino County, have been bonding with each other and their parents in recent weeks, giving and receiving sticks, building their shared nest, and sharing food.
"Sunny and Gizmo practiced stealing fish from each other but also continued to remain civil and share their meals," the nonprofit wrote in an accompanying caption. "They are getting better at turning their backs and covering food once claimed. Unzipping fish and self-feeding seems right on target."
The nonprofit told "Good Morning America" in a statement that Sunny and Gizmo are very active and have grown to be almost the same size as Shadow.
"We are watching how the parents and the chicks prepare for flight and life outside of the nest," an FOBBV representative said.
"Sunny and Gizmo are getting more curious by the hour. They are also working out. Those 'wingersizes' help them build their flying muscles. Sunny hovered for about a half a minute already! Gizmo has taken the lead on eating a few times and has been doing wingers as well," they continued.
The nonprofit added that the chicks' fledging process will unfold over the course of the next month.
Jackie and Shadow had three chicks hatch in early March, but one of the chicks died in mid-March following a winter storm, according to FOBBV.
The remaining two chicks -- Sunny and Gizmo -- received their names in early April following a voting contest that received over 54,000 submissions.
Bald eagles Jackie and Shadow shot to internet fame back in 2023 when livestream viewers noticed the birds had two eggs in their shared nest. Those two eggs never hatched, but when the eagles had eggs again this spring, interest in the family grew again.
