LOOKING OUT FOR THE BIRDS

Bird steward Karen Mason on why she wants to save the birds on Florida’s coasts and her viral photo of a bird feeding her chick

- Kay Newton

When Karen Mason first moved to Florida from Pennsylvania, she hated it. The land was flat, overpopulated and humid. Yet, she continued to live there for over 35 years, and as a bird-steward whose job is to ensure the safety of the birds in her environment, she went on to click one of the most iconic photographs in the hall of conservation fame: that of a mother black-skimmer bird feeding her chick a cigarette stub.

Karen’s love of nature and passion for photography led to time spent in the Florida swamps watching birds. She came across an article about skimmers, a seabird that is native to North and South America. So impressed was she with the quirky bird that she started work as a volunteer at the Suncoast Sea Bird Sanctuary.

The centre rehabilitates injured coastal birds. Karen helped to feed the chicks especially when it became apparent to her that the shorebirds living close to the beach were in danger. Skimmers nest close together in a group, and the beaches in Florida are overpopulated with hotels and condos. There is very little space for nests, even with cordoned nesting areas.