Bald Eagle Nest

A Bald Eagle nest is also called eyrie. These monogamous birds mate for life. Usually, a pair of Bald Eagles makes the nest together and uses the same nesting ground for many years. An old eyrie after a number of repairing each spring, reaches 10 feet wide and several tons in weight.

A Bald Eagle nest is usually situated at the top of a sturdy tree, on large level branches or on cliffs. Young pairs stay in the same area as their parents. Bald Eagles become sexually mature at the age of 4 to 5 years old. During the mating season, these large birds whirl through the air with their talons locked. Not all breeding pairs produce the offspring annually. They realize the bad timing because of food availability, bad weather or lack of free home ranges for the young.

Those Bald Eagles who choose to breed prepare their nests and the female lays 1 to 3 eggs. A Bald Eagle nest is often decorated by conifer branches that male eagles bring when the female incubates the eggs. The female does most of the nesting, but the male sometimes stays in the nest to let the female feed and exercise. The incubation period of Bald Eagles lasts for 35-38 days. The eaglets hatch by using a pointed bump on the top of the beak. Hatchlings are small and helpless, measuring about 4-5 inches. Their feathers are very soft; the legs are wobbly, the eyes are partially closed. Bald Eagle pairs share the duty of feeding and brooding the eaglets.

A Bald Eagle nest is always protected by one of the parents from squirrels, ravens, gulls, and humans. Bald Eagles need quiet and privacy to nest; if disturbed, they may abandon their nest even with eggs. It may be dangerous to come close to a nesting Bald Eagle. When the eaglets are hatched, both parents have to feed them. They leave the nest and provide their growing chicks with lots of food. The older and stronger chick may kill the siblings and the parents don’t usually stop it.

At the age of three weeks, the eaglets reach the size of one foot; their feet and beak become close to the adult size. At around 12 weeks, the eaglets reach their full size and begin learning to fly. They lift off by flapping their wings when facing into the wind. Parents force timid and weak eaglets to fly. Only about half eaglets survive their first year. Most of them die of starvation, collide with vehicles or get poisoned. After the eaglets leave the nest, the parents leave it too. A Bald Eagle nest is used only for incubating eggs and raising the young, but not for living.