Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Woodpecker Stump

I really enjoy this photo for its composition and color scheme. Ochlockonee River State Park is a small park on the Florida panhandle. While most of the park is composed of pine flatwoods and tropical oak hammock, one section of the park contains pine savanna, which is an incredibly picturesque landscape. Red-headed Woodpeckers were common within this park and I really wanted to get a shot of one with the pine savanna in the background. I noticed one beautiful adult bird routinely returning to this dead tree that matched the bird’s black-and-white colors and leaned slightly to the right, which contrast nicely with the perfectly vertical brown/green pines in the background. After about 15 minutes of waiting the bird returned to the spot and I was able to get the shot I wanted.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2023
Date Uploaded: 12.2024
Photo Location: Sopchoppy, Florida, United States of America
Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Copyright: © Mitch Walters