A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers

At the Museum | Fleischmann Auditorium

Presented by the Santa Barbara Audubon Society and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Back by popular demand following his outstanding presentation in May of 2025 on North American owls, acclaimed photographer Paul Bannick will focus on the woodpeckers of North America. Some of the most remarkable bird species found in the avian world, woodpeckers have evolved in ways that make them ecologically critical to forest health, serving as keystone species in a variety of wooded habitats across the continent. Their distinctive drumming sounds out a familiar rhythm, while their presence supports a myriad of birds and animals making them catalysts of diversity in the places they inhabit. They are, in many ways, the heartbeat of the forest.

Informed by his own experiences in the field as well as extensive research, Bannick will illustrate the often secret lives of North America’s 41 woodpecker species. He’ll show woodpeckers in every season: their courtship and nest selection in spring, life in the nest during summer, fledging and gaining independence in autumn, and the challenges of surviving the winter. Bannick will also takes a closer look at the most important woodpecker habitats in North America and what we can do to protect them.

Courtesy of Chaucer’s Bookstore, books by Paul Bannick will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Tickets $5, click here to reserve yours online today.

More About the Speaker
Paul Bannick is an award-winning author and wildlife photographer specializing in the natural history of North America with a focus on birds and habitat. He is the author of three books including The Owl and the Woodpecker: Encounters with North America’s Most Iconic Birds. His work can be found prominently in bird guides from Audubon, Peterson, The Smithsonian, Stokes, the National Wildlife Federation and in several volumes of the The Handbook of the Birds of the World.

For more information, contact kperry@sbnature2.org.

Northern Flicker photo by Paul Bannick, speaker photo by Chris Rogers

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