“We all cried”: Fans of Jackie and Shadow met in real life to celebrate Big Bear’s famous bald eagle couple

Hundreds of thousands of people tuned in to follow Jackie and Shadow’s parenting saga. the popular Nest livestream. On Saturday, a group of die-hard fans of this online community met in real life in Big Bear Lake, many for the very first time, to honor the pair of bald eagles.

They traveled from near and far – some from across California, others from across the country – to share their shared experiences with others.

Robin Rosenberg, who lives in Los Angeles and has watched Jackie and Shadow every day for the past few months, said she and a few other eagle-eyed fans even saw the duo flying over Big Bear Lake during their visit.

“We all cried, it was beautiful,” she said. “It was amazing. It was so worth it.”

The fan party

Welcome to the Jackie and Shadow Bald Eagle Party, an event at Big Bear Lake yesterday dedicated specifically to the feathered couple who Hope and heartache in their followers. The meeting is part of the 10th annual “Outdoor adventure days”, which offered free kayaking, bird watching and other activities in the San Bernardino Mountains.

The Jackie and Shadow celebration took place in the heart of Big Bear Village with a variety of vendors including the Sierra Club, San Bernardino National Forest and Friends of Big Bear Valleythe nonprofit organization that manages the cameras.

The fans

Nancy Kiarniski, who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, told LAist that she has been monitoring the couple daily on multiple devices since early March.

“I just love watching them,” Kiarniski said. “They’re just two lovebirds, right? When I’m having a bad day, they just make me so happy.”

Robin Rosenberg (left) and Nancy Kiarniski (right) spotted Jackie and Shadow flying around Big Bear Lake during their visit. (Makenna Sievertson / LAist)

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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Kiarniski and Rosenberg excitedly shared their experiences over the webstream and laughed about a “crooked stick” Jackie brought, as if they had known each other for years. However, Kiarniski said they actually only met at the event and “it was friends at first sight.”

Many fans used the meeting to transfer their relationships into the real world and finally put a face to the screen names.

Paul Amirault, who has been following the livestream for about five years – since July 4, 2019, to be exact – founded a Facebook fan group called “We love Jackie and Shadow“The number has risen from 18 to over 21,000 people.

“The great thing about these fan sites is that you can’t necessarily watch every second, but there’s someone there to let you know when something happens,” he said.

Amirault met for the first time on Saturday with one of the volunteer moderators of his Facebook page, Andrea Burns.

Burns, who lives in La Verne and has been following the livestream since 2018, told LAist that she is “so connected” to the couple that she has two televisions at home specifically designed for the different camera angles.

“Jackie and Shadow are real characters,” she said, her voice choked with emotion. “There are so many sweet moments and you just cry and laugh, and I would be devastated if anything ever happened to them.”

The Merchandise

Burns also took the opportunity to visit the Friends of Big Bear Valley Fan Shopand bought about $100 worth of souvenirs from her booth, she said.

The Jackie and Shadow T-shirts, especially in the orchid color, as well as the tote bags, plush toys and sweatshirts were particularly popular.

Shelley Egan, who sits on the board of Friends of Big Bear Valley and helps manage the merchandise, said all photos of her products come from cameramen who monitor the livestream 24/7.

“Someone has to pay attention, we even have someone in Greece who takes the early shift,” she said.

The host

The fan party was hosted by Sandy Steers, the organization’s executive director, who gave an “eagle talk” and answered questions from some of the 100 or so people in attendance. She also officially introduced at least five presenters for her Facebook page, all of whom were met with thunderous applause and shouts of “celebrity sighting” from the crowd.

But Steers was almost as big an attraction as Jackie and Shadow, and many people made sure to take a photo with her, the woman behind the fan phenomenon, before heading home.

“I can’t say how much I love how dedicated everyone is. The moderators are amazing and Sandy is amazing,” Rosenberg said. “The community is beautiful, I can’t say enough about it…this is my first time in Big Bear, so I’ll be back.”