Some birds seem to enjoy relaxing and posing and showing off their beauty, embodying a carefree approach to life. Woodpeckers, on the other hand, seem to be serious and focused, with a look of sheer determination in their eyes. It’s the same look that I see in so many of the people here in the Washington D.C. area, so driven in their professional lives that they are in danger of losing their identities apart from work.
Today, I photographed this Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) as he was preparing himself for work. Look deeply into his eye and what to you see? (Click on the photo to see more details.) The dead tree seems huge in comparison to this tiny bird. Yet he seems determined, determined to beat his head repeatedly against that wood, determined to find the food that he hopes and believes may be hidden inside.
Determined Downy Woodpecker
Do you ever feel like this woodpecker?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
i wish you could get everyone in Washington to join you in the woods for awhile so they could see that there is a natural balance in this world, and it isn’t one sided at all.
You are so right about the looks in may folks’ eyes in DC. I’ve been there–the first time for seven years and the second for another two and a half. And I’m so happy to be out of there and back in the Midwest! But like you, while I was there, I got out into the other, more natural parts as frequently as possible. Do you know White Oak Canyon, near the little town of Syria, close to Rag Mountain? There’s a hike I recommend to you most strongly!
I’ll have to check it out, Gary (I don’t know anything about it). Thanks for the tip. For the moment I am mostly shooting within about a five mile radius from where I live. It is amazing how many options there are suburban Northern Virginia.
Yes, indeed. Oh, and that other reference point is Old Rag Mountain (not simply Rag Mt.)