Wildlife Photography How To

We love photographer Mark Smith’s wildlife videos not only because they capture nature in action with rich detail, but they also tell a story that’s highly educational. In the below clip, Smith uses the Nikon D850 and D500 DSLRs to record the life or hummingbirds feeding on nectar from thistle plants.

“In this video I’m gonna take you all over western Colorado in search of some little tiny hummingbirds,” Smith says. “And keep in mind that everything you see in this video was captured in natural light in the wild. No flashes, no feeders, no baiting whatsoever.”

Smith, who seems to know the canyons of western Colorado like the back of his hand, descends into the ravine at first light. He tracks the hummingbirds to an area filled with fragrant thistle flowers, which are fed water from a nearby spring. In particular he notes that a “small group of Rufous hummingbirds have staked out this area as their own. ”

“Here’s the really amazing part: these birds show up in this exact spot every single year on the same exact day. Of the millions of locations in Colorado, these amazing little birds know this area down to a square meter, and often return to the same exact plant, year after year.”

Later, Smith leaves “hummingbird canyon” and travels 70 miles south to a “high mountain valley lush with growth” where he photographs a different species of hummingbird, called the Broad-tailed hummingbird.

Smith supplements the video with many, sharp as a tack photos of these tiny, high-speed creatures, all captured with his Nikon DSLRs. We also recommend you check out this video he shot of bald eagles flying and fighting in Olympic National Park.

And don’t forget to subscribe to Smith’s fantastic YouTube channel.