Climate and geographic latitude effects the timing of breeding and egg laying. For this North American raptor, southern states means earlier egg-laying, i.e. November in Florida, whereas Alaska in the north may occur late April through May. 

     EGG LAYING After a successful copulation, the female lays from 1-3 eggs in approximately 5-10 days. The average clutch, or group of eggs, is 1-3; the eggs are off-white and approximately 3 inches long by 2 inches wide. Each egg weights about 4-4.5 oz. Eggs are laid one at a time with 1-2 days in between each egg laying. They hatch in the order in which they were laid. In southern states it is possible for there to be a second brood if the first clutch did not survive incubation.

     EGG TURNING Both parents take turns rolling the eggs every couple of hours to prevent yolk from settling.

BOTH EAGLE PARENTS incubate the eggs and take care of the nest. Eagle eggs incubate for a little over a month, approximately 35 days.

It can take a day for the hatchling to completely break free of the egg after pipping (cracking the egg). 

     Who incubates the egg?
     Because the laid egg must be kept warm and protected from predators, both parents alternate sitting on the egg(s). It is the female, however, who usually spends more time on the nest at night and in inclement weather, because she is bigger and can cover the eggs more effectively. At night only one eagle incubates the eggs. The other parent eagle roosts elsewhere. Males leave the nest to hunt, often providing food for the female. However, the female will sometimes leave the nest to hunt for herself, at which times the male will be called upon to remain at the nest. Especially when the eaglet gets older, the female will do more hunting. Additionally, as the eaglet (who firstly develops white fluffy feathers, that turn to a gray as it ages) gets older, both parents will leave the nest for 20-30 mins.

     FLEDGING Bald eagles fledge at about 2-3 months, or 10-14 weeks. Before their first flight, nestlings will flap their wings in the nest or jump to an adjacent branch in behavior known as branching. Fledglings are usually full-grown adult eagle size by the time they fly the nest. Their coloring becomes a mottled brown with no white. There may be some minimal growth after that. 

     JUVENILES, or immature birds, have mottled feather colors with no white head nor white tail. At the age of 4 and 5, the juvenile begins to get whiter feathers on head and tail. After age 5, the now adult eagle has its life-long plumage of white head and white tail; it is not possible to visually tell the age of an eagle after age 5. This is also the age when a Bald Eagle reaches sexual maturity and is ready to mate.

     Studies indicate that juveniles are generally nomadic in the first four years of their life and can cover extensive geographic areas. Studies also show that when the juveniles are ready to mate, they tend to return to the general area where they were born. They do not return to the nest where they were born (9), but they may do a fly-by to say hello! (Read more in author’s upcoming book about Bald Eagles.)