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Two Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) chicks peer out side by side from the entrance of a nesting cavity originally excavated by a Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis) in a mature longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) in Croatan National Forest, North Carolina. This intimate moment highlights the ecological importance of cavity creation by endangered Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, whose excavations provide critical shelter not only for their own species but for a range of secondary cavity users, including owls, bats, and other birds. Longleaf pine forests once covered vast areas of the southeastern United States, but habitat loss, logging, and fire suppression have reduced these ecosystems to a fraction of their former range. The conservation of remaining mature longleaf stands is crucial for maintaining biodiversity, ensuring that species like Eastern Screech Owls continue to have access to safe nesting sites within these biologically rich habitats.