What I Learned from Birding in 2023
2023 was the first time in a few years that I took on the 100 Birds Challenge. This challenge was one I first took on in 2019, but last year I tried it again to see how much I’d grown as a photographer.
In the end, I managed to photograph just under 130 different species of birds in Delaware and Maryland (unfortunately I didn’t make it to Virginia in the southernmost part of Delmarva).
Over the course of this project, I came to learn a lot from birds that I can apply to both my photography and life in general. Here are a few of the lessons I learned along the way, documenting all those species in 2023:
Patience TRULY is a Virtue
This is something that everyone says, including myself, but while working on the Birds of Delmarva project last year, I came to really appreciate this addage.
On more than one occasion, I found myself sitting and watching a bird, waiting for it to line itself up just right for a photo. In others, it was waiting for the lighting to cooperate so I could get the look or feel I wanted. When I look back at the images from the project, I can almost instantly pick out the ones that I was patient for - because inevitably they turned out better than those I rushed!
Being patient is also why I feel I was able to hit and surpass the 100 bird mark. With the early success and progress made in the first quarter of 2023, part of me wanted to try to reach 100 birds in half a year instead of a full-year. Then there were a few slower months when real estate photography took up a lot of time, and limited my ability to get out and search for new birds. At first, this was sort of a gut punch because I was exceeding expectations and was well ahead of schedule. In my mind, though, I knew that early progress is what would eventually allow me to hit the mark despite getting busy in other parts of my business.
Slowing down and being patient will always yield the best results.
Try, Try, and Try Again
Over the course of 2023, one behavior I was fortunate to witness from a couple different species of birds was their hunting. For herons, this means wading slowly through shallow water until they find a fish, then stabbing at it by quickly extending their neck like a harpoon. For ospreys, it means circling and almost hovering over a body of water, then diving at its target with pinpoint accuracy to attack their prey.
How each bird approached its hunting was unique, but one thing was similar across each of them - when they failed, they tried, tried, and tried again until they had success.
Just like the saying of patience is a virtue, I know this is something everyone is taught at some point. However, for me, it stuck better than ever when I was seeing how the birds would continue to seek out food when their previous attempt failed. I think this is because I sort of relate to them in a way because of photography being my career and running my own business. For birds, they have to keep trying to get that meal or else they’ll starve. For me, if I don’t sell prints or photograph listings for realtors, then I’m not making a living.
When we fail, we must always be willing to get back up and try again.
Spread Your Wings and Fly
Birds aren’t born able to fly - they have the equipment, but they don’t have the knowledge or ability yet. To learn, they have to spread their wings and actively fly.
The same can be said of us as humans and things we aspire to do - we have access to a wealth of information and resources (equipment) to accomplish anything. We just need to figure out how to make those resources work for us, and the best way to do that is to just take the challenge head-on and jump into it. Spread your wings and fly.
I’ve said to myself on more than one occassion that going full-time into photography has been like trial by fire. I had a general idea of business and what I wanted mine to look like, but until I got started I never truly had anything figured out. And even still, I am always learning new things to improve my business and myself as a person along the way. It is a challenge I took head-on, and so far, has allowed me to soar.
Always be Willing to Learn
While I was putting this post together, I wasn’t really sure what direction I wanted to take it in. Deciding to blog this year is going to be more spur-of-the-moment than in years past, and that may lead to some off-the-wall posts like this one. In fact, as I’m putting these last few thoughts into it, I was even having second thoughts about whether to post it at all.
In the end, I decided it was best to continue with my plan and share it because the biggest lesson from last year was that you always need to be willing to learn.
How we all learn and grow is going to vary from one person to another - and that’s perfectly alright. The three lessons I touched on from last year are ones that I had already learned, but watching birds really helped hammer them home.
What matters, though, is that I was still willing to relearn those lessons from bird watching. Thanks to them, I have come into 2024 with a clearer idea of what I need to do if I want to sustain and grow my business in years to come, and also what I must do if I am to improve as a photographer:
Be patient, keep trying, and spread my wings.
Thanks for taking the time to check out this blog post, and here’s to the next adventure!
- Tyler
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