For those of you my age or older, you will no doubt remember a very famous Red Headed Woodpecker. Without saying his name, I believe he had a signature “laugh” that stands out in our memories. We took many pictures of the above woodpecker, watched him for quite some time, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) we didn’t hear anything similar to this famous laugh.
However, there was no lack of the beak pounding, hammering, mind jarring sounds from this guy and his relatives. If you haven’t guessed it yet, this is a Red Headed Woodpecker. Almost all of the woodpeckers around this area have red somewhere on them, and usually on and around their head: the Downy Woodpecker, the Red Bellied Woodpecker, and the elusive Pileated Woodpecker. Not to mention those in the Sapsucker family.
In any case, this guy practically posed for me and did some pretty neat things as well. The only thing that I could have wished for more, would for him to be on the sunny side of the tree. But even though he was on the dark side, he did poke his face into the light a couple of times and gave me some great shots.
My favorite is no doubt after he just drilled a hole and found some kind of insect. In literally just a second or two, it was down his throat and gone, and he was back to chipping away to find more to eat.
My second favorite aspect of these photos are his eyes. They look somewhat blank, dark, and almost confused. But I guess if you went around all day slamming your nose into trees…you too would have a blank look about you.
I believe this is the fourth installment about our trip to Sardis Lake. I plan on probably at least three more. Tomorrow’s will be on some amazing butterflies, the next will star some spectacular dragonflies, then some fungus and tree shots, and lastly some fish and a picture of the boardwalk itself.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this series as much as I have, and most of all, I hope at times you could almost picture yourself there. To me, photographs are so much more than good or bad ones. What you don’t get to see are the “bad” pictures. The exposure wasn’t quite right, the focus was a little off, I MOVED (I HATE THAT!), the wrong angle, or a myriad of other issues. But looking at all of these good and bad ones alike, it reminds me of the purity of nature. There’s beauty that is plain to see, and there is beauty in the strange and homely. There is life, and there is death. Sunshine and rain. Yet through it all, nature just keeps on going, keeps on striving, and keeps on living!
Oh that we might learn these same lessons. Don’t forget to like the page, leave me a comment, follow the blog, and if you’re so inclined, order some prints. So until next time, take your own 3 Hour Photo Trip and most of all, Enjoy Our Wonderful World!
RM Goldsmith Photography 