Bald eagles mate for life and use the same nest each year. The nest takes weeks to construct and is increased yearly. The female usually lays two eggs, taking turns with her mate to incubate them over the next 35 days. Both parents feed the young. Each brings food in its talons and tears it into smaller pieces with its beak.
Competition is so great that usually only one chick survives to adulthood.
As the chicks grow they learn to tear up their own food and the parents leave them for longer periods. The chicks practice flying from the aerie, but they return nightly. This continues until their parents force them to leave at the end of the summer. From a distance the bald eagle's head appears to be featherless. The adult eagle protects its brood from stormy weather by forming a shelter with its outstretched wings.