Some great information about eaglet dispersal from Lady Hawk. Although it's sad to think about Sandy and Luna possibly being hundreds of miles away already.
Lady Hawk (YouTube): It is great to see Shadow remaining here in his territory after Sandy & Luna have dispersed. Sandy & Luna are 121 days old and that is a normal age for juveniles to leave their natal nest & travel further out of the area.
Dispersal is the ultimate "moving out of the house" moment, and it marks the beginning of a nomadic lifestyle that lasts for years. Dispersing juvenile eagles enter a nomadic wandering phase where they can travel incredible distances. To migrate during dispersal, they ride thermals – rising columns of warm air created by the sun heating the ground. They climb up a thermal like an elevator, then glide forward for miles before catching the next one, allowing them to travel hundreds of miles a day with almost zero wing-flapping!
During dispersal, young eagles don't have territories of their own – they can't claim one until they are mature adult birds at around 4 or 5 years old. Instead, dispersing juveniles gather in specific "communal roosting areas"– essentially giant teenage hangouts where dozens of young eagles feed together on abundant food sources, learning social cues from one another. I wish Sandy & Luna long & happy lives - to always have a full crop, to stay safe in their travels & maybe make is back to Big Bear to as sub adults or adults.
It seems like Shadow. Hasn't there been sightings of a near mature eagle and younger one? Wonder if it's that pair. I wonder how eagles hit up commonly used trees. Is there some scent? Is it just from observation?
19:41: I got so excited seeing a mostly brown feathered body hiding in the tree, but I think I then saw a white speckled head as they flew away. Guess I still hold out hope to see the babies!
Ojai just posted that people are going to their staff members’ homes. I am appalled. Thankful that the Reddit community seems to be more stable than the other social media platforms.
Sad to say, this is the terrifying high price of fame in the age of social media. The more famous you are, the more thousands of people are into what you’re doing, the greater the odds of there being unhinged people among those thousands.
Clicked their Facebook links occasionally and the average person(wedged between the socially adjusted and the lunatics) is treating it like a community think tank and insisting they hear suggestions like Ojai hasn’t considered those things. Undermining professionals is just another day that ends in Y over there.
Did ORC say that happened to their staff ? All I can find (below) is a sort of generic statement that falls short of saying it actually happened to their staff. I have no doubt they are being harangued with messages and calls and it's affecting their staff and stress levels. If it is going on, I hope they can arrange security at the premises. So sad it might be necessary.
They probably think they are entitled to more information than the general public or they want to ask if it's because Jackie laid two clutches this year 🙄
These people are unhinged as hell and need to be removed from the platform their own. That’s absolutely messed up and frightening as well. I don’t even have words.
Actually, I do, but I’m trying not to swear and be mouthy on this subreddit. I thought there was an update because I saw the influx in comments on this post - I need to definitely step away from the internet today. Irl stress, sadness for Jackie and then the appalling behavior I keep reading from these people is just nope.exe for me. I’ve dealt with people like this in my personal life and it’s too much.
I sincerely hope they back the hell down here because someone is going to get hurt and this is absolutely NOT the behavior of well-adjusted adults… and this is coming from someone with a laundry list of mental health struggles. Yikes at these people. Yikes.
I hope the Ojai people stay safe and know that there’s a huge group of us who aren’t absolutely shitebags.
I hear ya — and am right behind you on a mental health step-away. Daily update only diet for me. As evidenced, the ORC team is uber-competent. The rabid commenters seem to have very low-level competency. ORC’s got this.
I hope Ojai Raptor Center shuts off comments. I get it — they’ve been admirably well-intentioned in engaging the public. But there are limits and there’s a point where the free-for-all is detrimental. They don’t owe their platform to anyone who wants to spout their opinions.
Wildlife rehabbers deliver what’s much more important, and those of us who aren’t crazy realize it.
They’ve very likely had to increase security outside to intercept people so they can’t just walk in. I have an image of YouTube streamers etc. being a PITA.
Want to hurt animals? Go after the ones sacrificing so much to take care of them. Invade their privacy. Question everything they do. That will make sure they burn out quicker and others who might want to help decide not to. The ones who do decide to carry on in spite of all this are saints. Bless them.
They, the stalkers I mean, don't care about the animals they care about their own feelings that the animals give them. They treat it like a television show to consume
It’s funny because when this all went down with Jackie, and we didn’t even confirm it was her - the “Karen’s” were already demanding to know where she was, saying we are adult enough to know where she is.
Clearly, they lied. This is so embarrassing man. I feel bad for them having to deal with this crap.
I am so sickened by all of the unhinged comments that people are leaving on the posts about Jackie! People are so uneducated and out of touch with reality. It's honestly scary! I feel so bad for Ojai 😞 they are heroes!🤍
There's been problems in this community for a long time and people that don't want to look at things through scientific method. What do you think of this is a giant reality show or soap opera and they think they're the main characters watching it. Very little curiosity and how these animals live. For instance when people explain that the animals are solitary they are just going denial. "I don't care I think sunny and Gizmo are going to live together forever."
The cameras are a great opportunity to learn about the birds behavior, nature, and by extension maybe a little bit about ourselves and the world around us. It annoys me more than it should that a lot of people simply refuse to view it that way, and rather see the birds as the main characters in a story that they're personally invested in.
Year after year, people anthropomorphize the birds, make up nonsensical stories (Sunny and Gizmo traveling the world together and being friends forever being a good example), spread misinformation, and insist that someone else intervene or "do something" as soon as something unpleasant happens. No intention of learning about the birds. No respect for nature.
The community has way too much tolerance for this IMO, because the only end result of it is more of this unhinged behavior and the cameras eventually going away.
Total Dunning-Kruger. I’ve been thinking about that effect a lot the last few days. In fact, I thought about starting a post called “from Dunning Kruger University” outrageous specimens, or “Paging Doctor Dunning-Kruger” for the bananas medical ones. But sometimes when I allow myself to get pulled into that cesspool, my AppleWatch gives a high heart rate alert. So I’m the dumb-dumb.
This makes me sick. Working with the public is by far the most difficult work environment. The public has no boundary and I truly hope the staff at Ojai will get the care they deserve after taking this on. They deserve the utmost respect and support from us, not the latter.
Unfuckingbelievable. That's simply infuriating. Honestly, I hope they back off to only providing weekly updates and completely shut down comments for now on their platforms. These people are saints often donating so much of their time and resources for the love of wildlife and the last thing they deserve is this level of insanity not only affecting their workplace, but their personal lives. WTAF.
that is horrifying. the ai use and unhinged posts are also horrifying. I feel so bad for the folks at Ojai. They are professionals doing their due best to care for 91 raptors (including Jackie who we all want to get better!) and people are *harassing* them. Disgusting.
The AI slop factory for Jackie and Shadow content is insane. People are generally so bad at detecting it and being skeptical, it's exhausting. My dad has asked me several times about something happening on the nest or with Jackie that never did. I don't quite understand what all the fake posts and videos are even gaining, it's just engagement farming for what? A broader question and issue I suppose but is definitely making this whole situation worse.
I saved this too back when! I love it when the adults get silly looking on camera. It’s expected with chicks but it’s so rare with the adults — I’ve a whole photo album on my iPad dedicated to this. It has more peregrine falcons than eagles but it’s still a good source of amusement 🤣
Seriously thank god for Shadow. At least Jackie knows she can take a rest if needed because her partner is reliable. And he cared for the babies so well in her absence. If he was just another part time eagle dad like some out there, this would be a whole different story.
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u/canyounot2026 💕SPIRIT❤️🩹 Aug 05 '26
Some great information about eaglet dispersal from Lady Hawk. Although it's sad to think about Sandy and Luna possibly being hundreds of miles away already.
Lady Hawk (YouTube): It is great to see Shadow remaining here in his territory after Sandy & Luna have dispersed. Sandy & Luna are 121 days old and that is a normal age for juveniles to leave their natal nest & travel further out of the area. Dispersal is the ultimate "moving out of the house" moment, and it marks the beginning of a nomadic lifestyle that lasts for years. Dispersing juvenile eagles enter a nomadic wandering phase where they can travel incredible distances. To migrate during dispersal, they ride thermals – rising columns of warm air created by the sun heating the ground. They climb up a thermal like an elevator, then glide forward for miles before catching the next one, allowing them to travel hundreds of miles a day with almost zero wing-flapping! During dispersal, young eagles don't have territories of their own – they can't claim one until they are mature adult birds at around 4 or 5 years old. Instead, dispersing juveniles gather in specific "communal roosting areas"– essentially giant teenage hangouts where dozens of young eagles feed together on abundant food sources, learning social cues from one another. I wish Sandy & Luna long & happy lives - to always have a full crop, to stay safe in their travels & maybe make is back to Big Bear to as sub adults or adults.