As fans of the famous Big Bear bald eagles Jackie and Shadow continue to bounce back from the loss of one of their three chicks, guests of the nests are bringing moments of joy and distraction.
That's because every reality TV show worth its salt has a cast of secondary characters who help or provoke the main characters — or just give the audience some new drama to obsess over.
On The Real Bald Eagles of Big Bear Valley, that role belongs to Fiona and Fast Freddie, who may or may not be more than two San Bernardino flying squirrels who visit Jackie and Shadow's nest and their growing brood.
The intentions of Fiona the flying squirrel and Fast Freddie are noble — no drama instigators here. As LAist has reported, they mostly look for scraps, which helps the eagles keep their nest clean.
The reaction from the bald eagles has been consistent from the get-go — sheer indifference or, when startled, a wing slap to ward off a surprise late-night visit.
The pesky neighbors that steal the show
Sandy Steers, executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that manages the YouTube livestream, said these San Bernardino flying squirrels have been making cameos for as long as the decade-long camera has been around, even though no one knows exactly how many of them there actually are.
"Yes, we don't know if it's the same ones," Steers said.
While elementary school students have been the ones to name the eagles, the monikers of Fiona and Fast Freddie came from a now-retired Forest Service biologist who helped launch the livestream.
These nocturnal critters are a subspecies of the Humboldt's flying squirrel and their claims to fame include being able to glide for as far as 300 feet in the air. They feed mainly on truffles, conifer seeds and lichens, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
But Steers and her volunteers have observed that, when it comes to the nest, Fiona and Fast Freddie are "very fond of Shadow’s fish tails, coot feathers, egg shells and even crunchy beetles!"
But fear not, the eggs and chicks have remained safe from these scavengers. Around 2022, Steers said, a nonviable egg was left in the nest one night when Fiona tried to pick it up.
" She could barely get her little paws around it. And it was bigger than her, so she couldn't do anything with it," Steers said, adding that the egg's thick shell would have also prevented harm.
Volunteers with the nest cam also catalog other recurring characters, including different types of birds that land in the abandoned nest during the off season.
But no other non-eagles get as much love as Fiona and Fast Freddie, thanks to their antics and banter. Steers said Fiona was once seen using Jackie's back "like a trampoline" to bounce to the other side of the nest. And often, the squirrels could be heard running their mouths after a wing smack.
"Everybody loves the flying squirrels," Steers said.
Her organization recently launched a Fiona plush doll that quickly sold out. The group is working to restock the shelves.
" They like that there's something else to watch," Steers said.
Spinoff?
So does it mean a flying squirrel cam is on the horizon?
" Maybe, if we could find it. Yeah, that would be funny," Steers said, adding that the volunteers have no idea where Fiona and Fast Freddie's own nest is. It could be just below the tree or somewhere else.
Their popularity does serve to bring attention to the plight of the San Bernardino flying squirrel, whose habitat of high elevation forests has been shrinking from hotter weather and longer droughts because of climate change. Once also found in the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County, these squirrels have not been sighted there since the 1980s.
Behind the scenes of The Real Bald Eagles of Big Bear Valley
Reality TV fans have many animal live streams to choose from, but the Jackie and Shadow show has commanded a growing fandom over the years — proffering heartbreak, elation and everything in between.
Last week, tens of thousands of fans poured their hearts out after learning of the news that one of eaglets had died.
“ It's reality TV, but it's not," said Steve Granelli, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston who analyzes pop culture. " There is something very pure about this — about this live stream and about these types of live streams."
Granelli said viewers today are versed in the techniques — including editing and the addition of narration — that reality TV shows use to sway emotions. Livestreams like Jackie and Shadow's, he said, provide an experience outside of manipulation and commercialization.
"Like we know that this is not managed. We know that there is no editor or director," he said.
Just as importantly, Granelli said, the casual, unhurried nature of the stream gives people the freedom to dip in and out, without stress or FOMO.
"We get to decide how much of the story that we want to ingest at any given moment," he said. " Because the story is, well, you know, the story is pretty simple. The story is life."
