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| THE NEWSLETTER OF PHOTOGRAPHER PAUL BANNICK | July 10, 2009 |
 Great Gray Owls are flightless when they fledge. Here a youngster scans the landscape for leaning trees or snags that it can climb to get off the ground and away from predators. |
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"The Owl and the Woodpecker" |
Waves of FledglingsWaves of birds fledged over the last few months. From Saw-whet Owls and Northern Spotted Owls in May, to Pileated Woodpeckers and Great Gray Owls in June, to Lewis Woodpeckers, and higher elevation woodpeckers in July, the landscapes of the West have been alive with the pleading calls of young birds.
Two young Pileated Woodpeckers, a male and a female wait at the cavity entrance to be fed. All four young flew from the cavity over the following few days.here. 
Saw-whet Owls, like these two often fledge from Northern Flicker cavities in early spring. 
As the sun began setting on the high plains of Kansas, I was hopefully watching a prairie dog burrow. It took a while for the first young owl to appear, but every few seconds another would pop into place beside its sibling, until ten small owls stood staring at me as the sun's golden light faded. 
While Burrowing Owls can dig, they usually require the holes created by small mammals, including prairie dogs, skunks and badgers. Although this badger looks quite fierce, it is actually a young "kit" yawning.
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