Inside Story

And the Winning Names for Jackie and Shadow’s Eaglets’ are… Sunny and Gizmo! And the Winning Names for Jackie and Shadow’s Eaglets’ are… Sunny and Gizmo!

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.”

As FOBBV Executive Director Sandy Steers posted on their Facebook page: “Meet Sunny and Gizmo! After the wonderful but lengthy process of selecting names for Jackie and Shadow’s adorable chicks, Bigger Chick is now named Sunny and Smaller Chick is now named Gizmo. Huge Thank You to everyone who participated. We had over 54,000 names submitted! Some people submitted 1 name, though many submitted 3 or 10, and they all added up. Many of the same names were submitted multiple times and by different people, but everyone who submitted a winning name will receive a certificate. Congratulations to the finalists and the winners!”

“We’re thrilled by how excited people were for the chance to name these two adorable chicks,” said 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. “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.”

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 tragic death of their third 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.”

To follow along with Jackie, Shadow, Sunny and Gizmo, tune in to the FOBBV channel on YouTube.


Photo Credit: Petar Marshall / Shutterstock.com