This is Bird Note.

In June, when birdsong is on the wane, many baby birds leave the nest.

Some shuffle tentatively along the nearest branch, while others take the big leap.

Young great horned owls clamber out of their nest to nearby branches where they perch, flap their wings, and beg to be fed by their parents.

The young owls practice flying by taking short, cautious flights to close-by branches or neighboring trees before they depart the nesting area.

Young seabirds in nests on high rocky cliffs don't have nearby branches for their test flights and often can't fly.

To launch themselves, they tumble off the cliff to land on the water below.

Built to bounce, the chicks pop up and swim close to their parents who continue to feed them.

But oh, what a first step.

The marbled merolet is a small, endangered seabird that nests in old coastal forests on the west coast.

It has a risky exit strategy.

From its nest, high in a tree,

the chick must make its first solo flight all the way to the sea,

often 10 or 20 miles away.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.

Support for Bird Note is provided by Mary Piggott from Seattle, Washington,

and generous listeners around the world.