On my travels between Ding Darling NWR and the Everglades NP, I stopped for a brief trip around the boardwalk of Corkscrew Swamp, just outside Naples, Florida. There was not a lot going on in the swamp, but did find a few Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus). This is a rather large woodpecker that is always fun to watch. We have a few of these back in Missouri, but they are often difficult to get close enough for some good images. The woodpecker photographed in Corkscrew Swamp was not real close, but the backdrop (Spanish moss in the trees) was enough to encourage me to try to get a few images. Here are a couple of my favorites, made while this bird was busy “drumming” in the top of a tree (in the first image, you can see that there is a slight movement in his head):
By the way, do you notice the similarities in this woodpecker and the famed cartoon character “Woody Woodpecker”? There are stories that the pileated woodpecker was the inspiration for Woody. Don’t know if that is true or not, but certainly appears to have a high probability!
Photography Equipment Used:
- Canon 7D body
- Canon EF100mm-400mm, f/4.5 – f/5.6, IS lens
- Handheld, with IS “On”
- ISO 500
- Aperture f/9 (both)
- Shutter 1/160 sec. (top photo) and 1/200 sec. (bottom photo)