Mark Smith Bird Photography

Bird Photography & Videography Pro Tips With Mark Smith

Mark Smith's Bird Photography Advice: Storytelling & Understanding Behavior

For their size, 2.3 meters or 7.5 feet in wingspan, eagles still manage to fly with the utmost grace. Their abilities baffle me. Being able to photograph and film them gets me closer to their experience, but I still can’t fathom how they do what they do.As this majestic bird makes its exit, its primary feathers ever so slightly slap the surface of the water with each wingbeat.The grace continues as this winged beauty decides to devour its catch while flying straight toward me. Talk about fast fo

236.9K viewsApr 18, 2025

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1 Bird 2 Worlds - How the Osprey Rules Both the Air and the SeaNot many creatures can move seamlessly between two worlds, but the Osprey has mastered both air and sea.Gliding high above the water, it scans the surface below, hesitating… waiting… for the perfect moment. Then it tucks its wings, drops into a steep dive, and plunges talons first into the ocean, blindly grasping for the fish it spotted only seconds earlier from above.I don’t know about you, but I can barely find things in my own ref

778.7K views11 months ago

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Have you ever tried to capture the perfect sunrise only to have a pesky pelican fly right through your shot and photobomb the whole thing? Sheesh you’d think the birds could see that was I standing there with that big lens…. No respect Of course I’m joking here. Pelicans can photobomb me anytime! But I’d prefer they kept those aerial pooping sprees to a minimum. My advice to all would be wildlife photographers out there. If you are looking up while photographing birds, keep your mouth shut. 😉 |

49.3K views8 months ago

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If you are new to the world of the Osprey then this video is the perfect visual example of what makes these birds the best at what they do and while the act of carefully falling out of the sky, plunging talon first into a foreign underwater world, vanishing below the surface while blindly grabbing for a fish that was seen mere seconds ago seems completely insane. This astonishing feat is done multiple times daily over and over again. Personally, this bird’s undeniable quest for living has helped

121.7K views7 months ago

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I don’t think I’ve ever seen an eagle fly in and land on the back of another eagle. Was it just a bad landing or was it intentional even better, how did it end? I’ll post the outcome tomorrow. Enjoy. | Mark Smith Photography

112.9K views5 months ago

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This is one of my favorite eagle videos. It really puts so much in perspective. First, you get to see just large or wide an eagle’s wingspan is. Second, somehow I managed to keep the bird in the frame even when it went behind the boat. Third, the boat is my fav driven by my good friend Sam from Nanook Lodge and finally my good friends artist geoffry smith and Neil got a front row seat to this close flyby. | Mark Smith Photography

471.7K views8 months ago

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Now this is how you make an entrance! Seeing the full wingspan of an eagle never really gets old does it? Slowing things down and filming them in slow motion just makes the entire experience even better. From the graceful midair bank, to the delicate landing on a bed of razor sharp oysters. It’s easy to see why these birds rule the skies. | Mark Smith Photography

979.4K views8 months ago

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Even the Eagle Seemed Shocked by What It TookI sat quietly for a few days in a light, misty rain, waiting for the wind to subtly shift and steer an eagle or two in my direction. On day three, that’s exactly what happened.As this bird approached, I thought it was coming in for a graceful landing among the oysters, but this eagle had other plans.A large plainfin midshipman was tucked neatly beneath a small bed of sea lettuce, a delicacy wrapped in vibrant, semi-translucent green.The fish was likel

1.1M views11 months ago

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One of the Craziest Bird Battles I’ve Ever Seen Two truths I’ve learned from many hours photographing and filming birds, 1: Persistence Pays. 2: Birds have a tough life! Every single day is a fight for survival. Food isn’t always plentiful and when it’s scarce, fights happen. This fight for survival had many different characters and I’m very curious to hear what everyone thinks of the birds that star in this unscripted, spontaneous scene especially the “one.” You’ll know it when you see it. Ouch

844.2K views10 months ago

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Craziest Eagle Fight I’ve Seen Yet - Two Birds At Each Other’s Throats I’ve seen a lot of aerial eagle battles but seeing this go talon to talon while they are on the ground is a different story. These two are literally at each other’s throats but there can only be one winner! Love the look on the remaking bird’s face. Not going to give up to its attacker. | Mark Smith Photography

53K views6 months ago

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What happens when a young bald eagle tries to steal a snack from an adult bald eagle? You get an amazing tangle of talons and feathers and a beautiful aerial display just like this. Some of the young birds are very aggressive. They have to be in order to survive. Food isn’t always easy to come by and many times, stealing it from the talons of another is much easier than trying to catch your own. Sounds an awful lot like politics… | Mark Smith Photography

696.8K views8 months ago

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Young Eagle, Big Dreams, No DinnerCompetition is always fierce. Just when this young eagle thinks it’s got an easy meal lined up, a second eagle swoops in like a feathered thief and snatches it away at the last second. Well played. Well played. The look on the juvenile’s face says it all: shock, disbelief, maybe even a little betrayal. We’ve all been there. One second you’re just doing your own thing, the next you’re watching your lunch fly off in someone else’s talons. Brutal but what goes arou

795.4K viewsApr 30, 2025

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This is my favorite Black Skimmer video because it perfectly illustrates the beauty of flight and this bird’s mastery of it and its environment. Watch how it makes a full 180-degree turn using its tail while keeping its head perfectly stable and its eye on the prize. It’s hard for me to fathom the amount of thinking that even goes into this process, and yet the Black Skimmer does it all on autopilot. What an amazing animal. | Mark Smith Photography

1M viewsMar 23, 2025

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Sometimes it’s a dainty glide in, sometimes effortless and sometimes these birds come screaming in with an undeniable purpose, dinner. This one was definitely the latter. How this bird managed to see its target from that distance, come hurtling in and somehow manage to snatch it from the surface of the water is beyond me. Amazing!!! What’s next for this bird? My guess is total world domination. | Mark Smith Photography

506.5K viewsMay 4, 2025

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Imagine having this much control while flying through the air at great speeds. The power of the majestic bald eagle never ceases to amaze. | Mark Smith Photography

60.7K viewsJun 4, 2024

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Dropping out of the sky and effortlessly gliding down to the surface of the water is a trait not every bird has perfected but as you can see here, this bald eagle has this hunting technique mastered. | Mark Smith Photography

52.3K viewsSep 24, 2024

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Part 2 to yesterday’s eagle attack where the eagle landed on another bird’s back. It was definitely intentional. The attacking bird was trying to knock another bird off of a fish and realized it had made a big mistake so it quickly made an exit. The eagle that held its ground, look at that stare at the end. It meant business and if the other bird had stuck around, I don’t think things would have ended well for it. | Mark Smith Photography

108.7K views5 months ago

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Once it’s locked in on a meal, nothing really seems to deter the bald eagle. With landing gear down and its talons curled into fists, the approach is a carefully balanced act of flight where each and every feather helps steer this magnificent winged beast towards its food source. I have seen these birds do this thousands of times and I can tell you that it never gets old. Every single time I stand in awe and wonder at how this all seems to just work and with each experience I learn a little bit

379K viewsMar 27, 2025

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Sometimes the catch is the perfect size for a nice inflight snack, and seeing an eagle stuff its face while flying never gets old. Add in the rain, and it gets even better. I’ve seen days where the tidal surge pushes dozens of fish to the surface, and believe it or not, the eagles slow down a bit. I remember seeing one come down to grab a fish, open its mouth to stuff its catch down its gullet, and the moment the bird opened its mouth, a fish fell out as it tried to stuff a second one in. For th

161.3K viewsFeb 28, 2025

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Yesterday I posted a bald eagle with a massive floppy dangler that got carried away with a talon through the eye. That was the “see no evil” edition. This bird has an even larger floppy dangler and has clamped its mouth shut. This is the “speak no evil” edition. | Mark Smith Photography

117.8K viewsAug 9, 2024

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When an eagle puts the landing gear down, there is a very good chance it has located a viable food source and made the decision to snatch it from the water's surface. Watch how this young bird's entire body compresses right before it grabs the fish. Incredible animals! | Mark Smith Photography

690.6K viewsJul 23, 2024

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If you have seen any of my eagle videos, then you know these birds have no problems with a mid-flight snack. This bird was no different, and it graced us with a great head-on shot of the midair munching. Glad I’m not a fish! | Mark Smith Photography

24.2K viewsJul 25, 2024

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Eagles and Their Talons: More Than Just Courtship

1.7M views10 months ago

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Sony A1 Mark 2 Wildlife Photography Setup Guide

674.5K views6 months ago

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I have spent many hours photographing and videotaping birds, and I’m always amazed at their ability to fly, but this one is mind-blowing. Check out how it uses its tail to make a 180-degree turn. Its entire body shifts, and each feather is being individually controlled by the bird. Who choreographed this dance? 😊 | Mark Smith Photography

1.1M viewsDec 13, 2024

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Crazy eagle tries to steal a rabbit right out of a hungry momma fox’s mouth. #birdsoftiktok #birdsofprey #eagles #marksmithphotography

298K viewsMay 30, 2023

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