The Birds Of Yellowstone

Mark Warnes tells how he shot some of his favourite images of nesting birds during a trip to Yellowstone National Park

My dad bought me a camera for my birthday when I was young and I’ve been addicted to photography ever since. The right kit choice for nature photography is essential, especially in the unforgiving environment of Yellowstone National Park. With birds in flight you need a camera capable of firing off many frames per second, without buffering, and a decent, fast telephoto lens.

My choice was the Nikon D850 with its advanced autofocus, coupled with the versatile Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 supported by a Benro carbon fibre tripod and G3 ballhead.

The photos were taken during a week-long stay last June in The Beartooth Mountains, part of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. The area is dotted with aspen trees, which are ideal for tree-nesting birds such as flickers and woodpeckers, with many smaller birds, such as mountain bluebirds, reusing the old nesting holes – so there’s plenty of photographic opportunities.