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.

The Raptor Resource Project says a second egg is expected later this week.