The two bald eagle chicks that hatched in Jackie and Shadow’s Big Bear nest earlier this month are now entering a new phase of internet fame.

They need names.

Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit behind the widely followed nest cam, has opened its 2026 naming contest for the pair, inviting fans to submit ideas through the organization’s official site between April 15 and April 26. Entry fees start at $5 for one name, rise to $10 for two, and go up to $25 for ten entries.

For a story that has already drawn thousands of daily viewers, the naming contest gives people a simple way to move from watching to participating. But it also does something bigger. The money raised supports the group’s broader conservation work, including efforts tied to protecting habitat around the nest area before possible development changes the landscape the eagles rely on.

That matters because this has never been just a livestream story. The appeal of Jackie and Shadow has always been rooted in something more tangible: a real nest, real risk, and a real community trying to keep that setting intact.

The contest itself follows a process that has become part of the Big Bear tradition. After submissions close at 11:59 p.m. on April 26, Friends of Big Bear Valley will draw a sample of names. Those finalists will then go to third graders in Big Bear Valley, who choose the winners. Past eaglet names have included Spirit, Sunny, and Gizmo.

Why this naming contest feels bigger than a cute tradition

The chicks hatched on April 4 and April 5, and if all goes well, they’ll remain in the nest for roughly 90 days before fledging. That means viewers are still early in the story. The eaglets are growing fast, their differences are starting to show, and the emotional investment around them is only getting stronger.

That’s part of what makes the naming contest work so well. It gives shape to a relationship people have already built through the camera. Naming turns anonymous wildlife into individuals in the minds of viewers, which in turn makes conservation feel less abstract.

There is also a local layer that keeps the story from becoming just another viral animal moment. Even with a global audience watching, Big Bear Valley schoolchildren still make the final call. That detail keeps the nest tied to the place it belongs to, and to the community that lives closest to it.

The result is a fundraiser that feels unusually effective. It’s light enough for casual viewers to join, but concrete enough to support something serious. A submitted name might seem small on its own, yet it feeds into a larger effort to protect the habitat these birds need long after the attention fades.

For now, the chicks are still in that brief stage when they look more like fuzzy nestlings than future raptors. But the naming contest is a reminder that their story is already doing real work, pulling people closer to the place, the birds, and the stakes of keeping both safe.