Paul Bannick

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. Coupling his love of the outdoors with his skill as a photographer, he creates images that foster intimacy between viewer and subject, inspiring education and conservation.

Paul is both the author and photographer of five well-received books, including three bestsellers: Owl: A year in the Lives of North American Owls (Braided River, 2016), Woodpecker: A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers (Braided River, 2025) and The Owl and the Woodpecker: Encounters with North America’s Most Iconic Birds (Mountaineers Books, 2008). The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, located at the University of Washington, created two traveling exhibits based on The Owl and the Woodpecker. Owl received the gold medal in 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards’ “Animals/Pets” category. Paul’s latest book, Woopecker: A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers received the silver medal in the 2025 INDIES and has been nominated for several other awards.

Paul’s photography has won awards from several prestigious photography contest including those hosted by Audubon Magazine and the Interantional Conservation Photography Awards, and was featured in a wildlife art exhibit at the Chimei Museum in Taiwan. His photography has also been prominently used in bird guides from Audubon, Peterson, the Smithsonian, Stokes, the National Wildlife Federation, and several volumes of the Handbook of the Birds of the World as well as in Owls of the World and the Peterson Reference Guide to the Woodpeckers of North America.

is work has also been featured in a variety of publications such as the New York Times, Audubon Magazine, Sunset Magazine, Nature’s Best Photography, Birds and Blooms, Pacific NW, the Seattle Times, Alaska Beyond magazine, and others. He has appeared on NBC Nightly News, Evening magazine, KING-TV, and has been a guest on dozens of NPR stations and programs, including Travels with Rick Steves, The Wild, and BirdNote.

Learn more at paulbannick.com