Watch This Incredible Video of Bald Eagles Flying & Fighting Captured with a Nikon D850 & 500mm Lens

The amazing video below by photographer Mark Smith is almost like a National Geographic tour of an entire ecosystem. In this case, it’s the Hood Canal, which is sandwiched between Seattle and the Olympic National Forest in Washington state, and “attracts a wide variety of impressive animals,” as Smith puts it. And he will photograph many of them, including, most impressively, soaring and fighting eagles who battle each other for fresh fish.

Smith arrives at the location in the morning at first light, armed with his Nikon D850 and 500mm F/4 lens, which he uses to shoot videos and stills of the scene that unfolds. And what a scene it is!

He starts by capturing the Hood Canal – which is not actually a man-made canal but a natural occurring waterway – at high tide with a group of geese nervously patroling the calm waters. Then a few seals poke their heads above water as blue herons roam the banks, before the waterway suddenly undergoes a “massive change.” As the tide abruptly rolls out and the water vanishes, thousands of oysters and other underwater creatures – including fish – are exposed to the hungry birdlife in the surrounding area.

And this is where the fun begins if you’re a bird or a bird photographer but not, perhaps, if you’re a fish. I could go on describing what happens next but it’s better to watch Smith’s video, which he narrates with an expert’s knowledge. The images and footage he captures are truly breathtaking.

You can see more of Smith’s bird photography videos on his YouTube channel.

Here are some more bird photography stories we have featured that might interest you:

How to Photograph Bald Eagles: Tips for Capturing These Majestic Creatures In The Wild

Wildlife Tips: Learn How to Make Stunning Photos of Birds in Flight with Top Pro Sam Rowley (VIDEO)

Alan Murphy’s 4 Practical Tips for Better Bird Photography

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