In Owl, award-winning photographer Paul Bannick uses his intimate yet dramatic images to illustrate four different nesting owl species—Northern Pygmy, Burrowing, Great Gray, and Snowy—throughout the course of the year in four distinct habitats. Each stage in an owl’s life is chronicled: courtship, mating, and nesting in spring; fledging and feeding of young in summer; dispersal and learning independence in fall; and, finally, winter’s migration. Unusual irruptions and the everyday struggle to survive are also covered. In addition to the four featured owls, the fifteen other species of North American owls are generously depicted throughout the book; Bannick’s startling images reflect their shared behaviors as well as some surprising exceptions and adaptations. More than just a backdrop, the four featured owl habitats—forest, grassland and steppe, boreal, and Arctic—reveal wildly rich stories of their own. Owl is a stunning follow-up to Bannick’s bestselling title, The Owl and the Woodpecker, giving bird lovers yet another gorgeous photographic tribute, engaging natural history, and a compelling call to preserve the habitats that sustain these most iconic of birds. (Limit of 100)
Burrowing Owl by Paul Bannick.