Nesting Eagles Have a Family Dispute and Argue Over Where to Place a Stick in the Nest

A video featuring two bald eagles building a nest together went viral recently. The footage, which you can watch at the end of this article, shows two adult bald eagles seemingly arguing over where to place a specific stick in their nest.

Many of the commenters made jokes about how the two eagles behaved as though they were a married couple trying to decide how to decorate their home nursery. The bickering eagles had an endearing charm to them as they prepared their nest for their young.

Where Do Bald Eagles Live?

The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) resides in North America. In fact, it has been the national bird of the United States since 1782. They prefer forested areas near open bodies of water and nest on cliffs, trees, buildings, and the ground. Most commonly, however, they choose mature trees to support their large nests, such as white pine, cottonwood trees, aspen, firs, oaks, and hickories.

How Large Are Bald Eagle’s Nests?

On average, a bald eagle’s nest is about 6 feet in circumference. In fact, they have the largest nest of all birds. 

The biggest bald eagle’s nest ever discovered was 9.5 feet in diameter, 20 feet deep, and nearly 6,000 pounds. For reference, this is the equivalent of around three to four cows. The nest was found in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

How Do Bald Eagles Make Their Nests?

Bald eagles build their nests using large sticks and typically line them with moss, grass, plant stalks, lichens, seaweed, or sod. Both the male and female eagles work together to stack the sticks and branches. Typically, the female will gather material for the nest while the male will help assemble it.  

Additionally, the birds will usually build their nests between 50 and 125 feet high, depending on their environment. They will continue to maintain the nest after their eggs hatch and the baby birds leave, adding one to two feet of additional material each year. After mating again, the same two mates will often lay new eggs in the same nest years down the line.

Watch the Hilarious Footage Below