Sea eagles will often scavenge around fishing boats in rivers or near the coast. In Tasmania most nests are in large, sheltered eucalypts. Exceptions are on small islands where rocky outcrops may be used. Each season nests are repaired and added to. Nests serve as breeding, feeding and sleeping platforms and act as territorial flags.
Pairs mate for life.
Courtship never really stops but peaks in early spring when pairs may lock talons and tumble through the air. One or two eggs are usually laid during September in a nest lined with green leaves, mainly for hygiene. Hatching takes 40 - 44 days, but often the first to hatch kills the other. Nestling life is about 95 days after which the fledglings are dependent on their parents for another month or so. If the young eagles survive for a year then they will probably live to breed, at 5 years of age.