The bald eagles nesting at U.S. Steel's Irvin Plant have laid their first egg of the year. While it's the sixth season for dad Irvin at the nest, there's a new female this time. Stella is replacing Claire,

The bald eagles living at U.S. Steel’s Irvin Plant have welcomed their first egg of 2025. Mother Stella laid the egg around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Stella joined Irvin in the nest after Claire left late last year. Irvin has lived at the nest for six seasons.

In a social media post Monday, Feb. 4, Friends of Big Bear Valley, which operates two web cams trained on the eagle pair’s nest above Big Bear Lake, announced that “pip watch” — looking for signs of a chick hatching — begins March 1.

Bald eagle eggs typically hatch after 35 days of incubation, according to the East Tennessee State University. But Jackie and Shadow’s eggs will likely hatch after 38 to 39 days, or longer, since they have three eggs to tend to, the nonprofit said in the post.