19th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
They Dance like Jesters

Just inside the Gulf of Mexico waters, some of the oldest Live Oak trees thrive. They climb fervently, as the constant gulf wind whips and reshapes their limbs. This tree, inside Goose Island State park, shields the migrating whooping cranes during their winter habitat.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 11.2021
Date Uploaded: 11.2021
Photo Location: Fulton, Texas, United States of America
Camera: ILCA-99M2
Copyright: © John Lightle