Bald Eagle on Nest

Bald Eagles nest early in Minnesota. I suspect they try to match egg hatching with ice-out. The consequent bounty of winter-killed fish probably helps assure survival of the chicks. More landlocked eagles probably do the same, but hope for the emergence of spring rodents.

Bald Eagles nests are among the largest of all birds. One nest in Ohio, used for 34 years, weighed almost 2 metric tons. A Florida nest was 2.9 meters in diameter and 6.1 meters tall. Typical nests are just over 1.5 meters around and about a meter tall (Buehler 2000).

We photographed this nesting eagle yesterday at the Carpenter Nature Center in nearby Washington County, Minnesota. The frozen St. Croix River is in the background.