How Do Baby American Eagles Develop?
Birth Known formally as the “bald eagle,” this majestic bird of prey does not have what many would consider a “happy” childhood. Fraught with peril, the bald eagle’s development process ensures that only the hardiest (and deadliest) birds survive to maturity. A baby eagle, or “eaglet,” begins its life in a massive nest. Ranging from 5 to 9 feet in diameter and weighing up to 2 tons, bald eagle nests are built either in mature trees or flat cliff tops near a body of water. Bald eagles mate for life and return to the same nest year after year. If food is plentiful and the environment stable, bald eagles breed every year. A week after mating, the female will lay a single egg (and possibly a second or third egg three days later). The eggs incubate for 35 days, during which time the male and female eagles take turns on the nest. While the parents are prepared to defend against squirrels, gulls and crows, noisy or otherwise intrusive humans (this means you, shutterbugs) will cause them to ab
