Sunny and Gizmo: Big Bear's eagle chicks get names and show off personalities
Elementary school kids across the valley voted on official ballots and crowned the fluffball siblings “Sunny” and “Gizmo.”
Bald eaglets Sunny and Gizmo were caught messing around in their nest in Big Bear Valley, California, until their mother Jackie decided enough was enough.
The two bald eagle chicks nesting high above California’s Big Bear Valley now have names—and personalities to match.
After a week-long fundraiser that generated more than 54,000 name submissions, the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) turned to local students to make the final call. Elementary school kids across the valley voted on official ballots and crowned the fluffball siblings “Sunny” and “Gizmo.”
“We’re thrilled by how excited people were for the chance to name these two adorable chicks,” said FOBBV Executive Director Sandy Steers. “The Big Bear elementary students had tons of fun voting. It was great to add a little reward for all their hard work learning about Jackie and Shadow and their chicks.”
Sunny, the older of the two, is living up to its bright name—already stretching wings, wobbling on legs and even playing with a pine cone under mom Jackie’s watchful eye.
(Image credit: Friends of Big Bear Valley)
“Sunny was again more awake and active than younger Gizmo,” FOBBV noted in a Sunday update, adding that Sunny “found a nice curious toy to play with… a baby pine cone,” complete with a feather that “certainly made it all the more fascinating.”
Meanwhile, Gizmo—smaller and more subdued—has found creative ways to remind Sunny who’s boss. “Gizmo got braver and stood up to do a full-blown ‘bonk,’” the group said. “That got instant counter bonks from Sunny.”
(Image credit: Friends of Big Bear Valley)
(Image credit: Friends of Big Bear Valley)
Despite the occasional sibling squabble, both eaglets are progressing well after enduring a recent storm that blanketed the nest in snow, brought wind gusts of 100 mph and resulted in the death of their sibling.
As FOBBV put it: “We continue watching Sunny and Gizmo’s fast development. It will be curious to watch whether Gizmo copies Sunny’s moves—or finds its own unique ways of growing into itself.”
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