Two Eastern Screech Owl Chicks in Old Red-cockaded Woodpecker Cavity in Longleaf Pine, Croatan National Forest - Bildbanksfoto

Two Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) chicks peek out from a natural nesting cavity in a mature longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) in Croatan National Forest, North Carolina. This cavity, originally created by an endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis), represents a critical example of how cavity excavation by one species benefits an entire community of wildlife. Longleaf pine forests, once dominant across the southeastern United States, now occupy only a fraction of their historic range, and the survival of species like Eastern Screech Owls depends directly on the preservation and restoration of these fire-adapted ecosystems. The health of longleaf pine forests and the species they support are tightly linked.