A tricolored heron chick, just moments old, rests its head on the eggs of its unhatched siblings in their nest at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach County on March 30, 2023. Tricolored herons nest in colonies with other birds, making the 50-acre marsh, part of the Great Florida Birding Trail, a perfect spot.

A great egret chick dons fuzzy feathers in its nest at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach County on March 30, 2023. The nest can be a competitive place for egret chicks, with dominant chicks sometimes killing their weaker siblings.

A sandhill crane colt learns how to forage for food, likely insects or seeds, with its sibling (not pictured) on Feb. 26, 2023, along Southeast Green River Parkway in Martin County. Sandhill cranes mate for life and stay with their offspring for up to 10 months.

A brood of wood stork chicks reach for food from a parent in their nest at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach County on March 30, 2023. Wood storks regurgitate fish and aquatic invertebrates to their young.

Two great blue heron chicks squabble in their nest on a pond apple tree at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach County on March 30, 2023. Baby herons stay with their parents for about eight weeks.

A growing wood stork chick sits up tall in its nest in a pond apple tree at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach County on March 30, 2023. There are dozens of nesting wood stork pairs in the 50-acre manmade wetlands.

A great horned owlet sits with a parent in their nest at Savannas Preserve State Park in Port St. Lucie on March 9, 2023. Great horned owls take long-term care of their chicks, with the owlets staying with their parents for up to nine months.

A great egret’s breeding plumage, or aigrettes, stands out as the egret checks on its eggs in a nest at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach County on March 30, 2023. The plumes are used for a courtship display to attract partners.

An osprey family lives in a nest platform at Rio Nature Park close to the St. Lucie River in Martin County on March 8, 2023. Osprey chicks can take up to 2 months to fledge their nest, but continue to be fed by their parents for weeks after that.

A bald eagle keeps watch over its eaglets, several weeks old and still living in their nest, at Savannas Preserve State Park in Port St. Lucie on March 9, 2023. The large nest may be reused and added to for years, becoming huge as time goes on.

Spring is in full bloom, signaling something we look forward to every year: It’s baby bird season!

Everywhere you look in the Greater Everglades ecosystem, hatchlings are cracking open their multi-colored shells to peek out into the world for the first time. And they’re hungry! Their mouths are often wide open and pointed skyward, marking bullseyes for their parents to drop food inside. These birds will mature relatively quickly and will soon take flight to join the flocks that are indicative of thriving Florida ecosystems.

Friends of the Everglades Multimedia Producer Leah Voss has spent the last few weeks capturing these Easter-egg-come-early moments. Barred owls, eagles, osprey, and sandhill cranes topped her list in Martin County, while a visit to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach County earned her images of some of the state’s most iconic wading birds — great blue herons, egrets and wood storks — in all stages of new life, from nesting, to egg laying, to the wild and fuzzy plumage of brand new baby birds. 

These images reflect one of the best Everglades wading-bird seasons in decades, according to scientists. That’s something worth celebrating.

Use the buttons above to scroll through our gallery of baby birds.