Three to four weeks before an eaglet fledges, it starts preparing to fly in a number of ways. Once the wings have grown in, it will stretch and spread these wings probably wondering what in the heck are these big things. Eventually it will face the prevailing winds on the edge of the nest and begin to get some lift while flapping. The final stage before flight is when they start branching, and jumping from the branch to the nest and back again. An eaglet we watched fledge a couple of years ago was branching high and jumping back to the nest, and then it just took off and flew to a nearby tree.