Some eagles are "early nesters" and lay eggs the first wee in November; "late nesters" may eggs in mid January. By nesting during winter, Florida's eagles raise their young when food is likley to be plentiful. Two to three eggs are laid, two to four days apart in a small, well-formed cup of Spanish Moss or grasses. The eggls are about twice as large as chicken eggs, chalky white, and marked with pale brown or buff markings. Eagles incubate their eggs for about thirty-two days.
Both parents will incubate the eggs, but the female tends to spend more time at this task than the male. It can take almost twenty-four hours for an eagle to break out of its shell and the parents don't help in this process. The parents carry food to the nestin their talons or bill. When their chicks are young, the parents tear bites of food for them, but as the eaglets get older, they must tear off food for themselves. Eaglets leave the nest at about ten to twelve weeks of age, but parental care may extend for another four to six weeks after fledging.