UD student meets goal of finding, photographing 100 birds in 2018 with one day to spare

He even had a day to spare.

Delaware native Louis Mason, 21, completed his goal of finding and photographing 100 different species of birds in the First State in 2018.

"Delaware is unique as a resting point for birds as they migrate south," he said. "I like the hard-to-find birds."

More than 400 bird species are known to live or stop in Delaware during migration routes. Tackling a percentage of that total seemed doable to Mason, who set the goal as a way to practice his photography skills while filling time between classes and work.

Mason, a senior at the University of Delaware, said his project was inspired by Joel Sartore's Photo Ark project. That National Geographic photographer aims to shoot thousands of species before they go extinct.

"It's stemming off of that idea, but I wanted to tie it into Delaware," he said. "I also didn't want to drive too far."

Just a few days before Christmas, Mason had logged 91 species. He said he may redo some of the photos for a final photo book project.

The Bear native said he is fascinated by birds, but spending hours and days traveling around his home state has led to new-to-him places such as Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

To get a closer look at this localized adventure in nature, we asked Mason to share the highlights of his new birding and photography adventure. Some answers have been edited for clarity and length.

Q: What got you interested in photography?

A: I got my first DSLR camera for Christmas my senior year of high school. I can’t remember why I even wanted one, but I think I was just attracted to the idea of taking nature shots and having a creative outlet to work with while I went through college. I followed a couple of famous photographers on Instagram, and kind of used their works and adventures as inspiration for what I could potentially do with my camera. Now my camera is like an extension of my body and I use it at least once a week.

Q: What got you interested in birds?

A: I wasn’t specifically interested in birds when I first thought of the project. I have always just been super interested with wildlife and nature in general. After some research, I found out that Delaware is as close to a North American birding haven as you can get on the east coast. Always being up for a good challenge, I saw this as an opportunity to build a project around. While attempting to shoot 100 different bird species in Delaware this year alone, I grew an appreciation for birds and what makes each one unique.

Q: What has been your favorite part about this project?

A: I wanted to work on a project that would not only help sharpen my photography skills, but also blend my passion for photography with my fascination with wildlife. While chasing birds throughout Delaware, I explored more of Delaware than I ever had in my 21 years of living here. 

Birds 2018 - @lmasephotography

Q: What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about birds so far?

A: The most surprising thing has probably been the wide variety of birds that actually exist and visit Delaware. Prior to starting the project I only knew a handful of birds, and anything outside of that was just a bird. I found that there are over 250 species that can be seen in Delaware, and there is this huge birding community that has known this for decades. After researching and photographing certain species, I can recognize tons of native species just off of appearance, behavior or call. 

Delaware's winter birds and where to find them

Q: What has been your most unique experience?

A: In November I was noticing quite a few snow geese photos on Facebook that had hundreds if not thousands of geese in a single shot. Being that I hadn’t logged a snow goose yet, I made it a priority to get down to Bombay Hook as soon as I could. After spending the entire afternoon shooting and driving around, I parked my car along with other cars waiting for a huge grouping of snow geese to take flight. I sat there for about 10 minutes when what seemed like over 20,000 snow geese erupted into the sky, taking off in all directions. It was like a blizzard opened up in front of me, but instead of snowflakes they were 3-foot tall geese. There were groups of 20 to 100 that broke off on their own flying in these huge V’s, some 20 feet off the ground and some 100 feet up. This paired with the main pack of thousands flying in a pattern that mimicked a huge wave, gave the feeling that I was surrounded by these geese. Even though the sound of thousands of geese was near deafening, and it was no warmer than 30 degrees out, I couldn’t help but smile.

Q: What advice do you have for beginning photographers or birders?

A: Advice for any beginning photographers would be to find something you love to shoot or have an eye for, and practice until your SD card’s full. Some online photography classes may help, but most of what you’ll learn in regards to the basics will be self-taught through practice. Advice for any new birders would be to download some birding apps like “Merlin Bird ID” or “Audubon,” follow a local birding group on social media, get binoculars and have extreme patience. The birds go where they want and when they want. You just need the patience and luck to be there when the birds are.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: Even if you aren’t a birder, I think people should get out and explore what Delaware has to offer. We have swamps, marshes, beaches, fields, woods and ponds all over that I feel like most people don’t take advantage of, or even know exist. Go grab a sub from Wawa and just go.

Contact reporter Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.

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