Speaking Engagements
Noah is an energetic storyteller, known for the split-second humor, thoughtful reflections, and positive messages in his talks.
He is a popular keynote at universities, festivals, meetings, and private events across the U.S. and abroad. If you are interested in an appearance, please get in touch at noah.strycker@gmail.com. Noah tries to respond to every request.
“Noah’s presentation was energetic, informative, and entertaining–amazing experiences with people and birds.”
-Thomas Love, Linfield College
Available Talks
THE CHINSTRAP PENGUINS OF ELEPHANT ISLAND
Antarctica’s windswept Elephant Island may be best known as the bleak refuge of British explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew after they lost their ship Endurance in 1916. Today, the island is a stronghold for thousands of nesting Chinstrap Penguins. To find out how these penguins are faring, Noah traveled to the island in 2021 with a team of Stony Brook University researchers on the Greenpeace ship Esperanza. Their mission was to count the penguins breeding there—a feat that had been done only once before, 50 years earlier by a British Joint Services expedition. From Endurance to Esperanza, Noah recounts the adventures of life on the Southern Ocean.
BIRDS OF THE PHOTO ARK
Here is a new way of looking at birds: Face-to-face, in formal studio portraits! Acclaimed National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore has been on a mission to document every animal under human care around the world, with more than 7,000 species represented in the ongoing Photo Ark project. In 2018, Joel and Noah teamed up to feature the most beautiful, exotic, and threatened birds from this portfolio. When you look at any bird up close, it suddenly becomes an individual, with emotions, expressions, and personality. In this presentation of gorgeous images and engaging stories, be prepared to see birds as you’ve never seen them before.
BIRDING WITHOUT BORDERS: AN EPIC WORLD BIG YEAR
In 2015, Noah became the first human to see more than half of the planet’s bird species in a single year. Anything could have happened, and a lot did. He was scourged by blood-sucking leeches, suffered fevers and “Delhi Belly,” skirted war zones, and had the time of his life. Birding on seven continents and carrying only a small backpack, Noah enlisted the enthusiastic support of local birders to tick more than 6,000 species, including Chinstrap Penguins in Antarctica, a Harpy Eagle in Brazil, and a long-lost owl in New Guinea. Rather than listing every last sighting, this entertaining presentation covers the funniest, weirdest, and most inspiring stories, as much about people as birds.
BIRD WORLD: INSIGHTS FOR HUMANS FROM THE WORLD OF BIRDS
Birds aren’t people, but just how different are they from us? Approaching bird behavior from surprising angles, Noah explores the astonishing homing abilities of pigeons, extraordinary memories of nutcrackers, self-image in magpies, life-long loves of albatrosses, particle physics of starling flocks, and other mysteries—revealing why birds do what they do, and how we can relate. The behaviors of birds are often closer than they seem, with distinct personalities, emotions, and intelligence. And by studying them, we can sometimes reflect on our own, parallel experiences. Noah brings together cutting-edge science, personal stories, and a dash of philosophy to illuminate the lives of birds.
AMONG PENGUINS: LIFE BELOW ZERO
What is it like to spend three months in a colony of 300,000 penguins—with no fresh food or shower, living in a tiny tent in Antarctica? Noah spins tales from the end of the world, delving into the things you don’t typically see on nature documentaries: thousand-year-old penguin mummies, how to catch a baby penguin, and the wonders of the pee bottle. Months after graduating with his undergraduate degree, Noah was helicoptered into a remote Antarctic field camp as part of a long-term research study on Adélie Penguins. He soon found himself caught by the great allure of Antarctica—where life is distilled into necessities and incredible moments.
Past Appearances
American Birding Expo, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Atlanta Bird Fest, Atlanta, Georgia
Apalachee Audubon, Tallahassee, Florida
Asian Bird Fair, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Audubon Society of Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
Baton Rouge Audubon Society, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Bay County Audubon, Panama City, Florida
Biggest Week in American Birding, Black Swamp, Ohio
Bird Protection Quebec, Montreal, Canada
Birding and Blues Festival, Pacific City, Oregon
Brookline Bird Club, Boston, Massachusetts
Central Valley Birding Symposium, Stockton, California
Chicago Ornithological Society, Chicago, Illinois
Copperfield’s Books, Petaluma, California
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York
Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds, Minnesota
Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel Island, Florida
Eckerd College, St Petersburg, Florida
Eugene Natural History Society, Eugene, Oregon
Forth Worth Audubon, Fort Worth, Texas
Galt Winter Bird Festival, Galt, California
Georgia Ornithological Society, Jekyll Island, Georgia
Godwit Days, Arcata, California
Great Adirondack Birding Celebration, Paul Smiths, New York
Great Salt Lake Bird Festival, Farmington, Utah
Harney County Migratory Bird Festival, Burns, Oregon
Harvard Travellers Club, Boston, Massachusetts
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, Pennsylvania
High Plains Audubon, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Iowa Ornithologists’ Union, Clear Lake, Iowa
Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, Homer, Alaska
Kentucky Ornithological Society, Pine Mountain, Kentucky
Ladd Marsh Bird Festival, LaGrande, Oregon
Laredo Birding Festival, Laredo, Texas
Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest, Leavenworth, Washington
Leica Gallery Los Angeles, West Hollywood, California
Leica Store Boston, Boston, Massachusetts
Leica Store Miami, Miami, Florida
Leica Store Bellevue, Bellevue, Washington
Leica Store San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Leica Store Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon
Linnaean Society, Am. Museum of Natural History, New York
Mississippi Ornithological Society, Buloxi, Mississippi
Mizzou Botanic Garden, Columbia, Missouri
Monte Vista Crane Festival, San Luis Valley, Colorado
National Gallery Singapore, Singapore
New River Birding and Nature Festival, West Virginia
Ocean State Bird Club, Providence, Rhode Island
Olympic Peninsula Birdfest, Sequim, Washington
Oregon Shorebird Festival, Charleston, Oregon
Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
Othello Sandhill Crane Festival, Othello, Washington
Pilchuck Audubon, Snohomish, Washington
Port Angeles Library, Port Angeles, Washington
Provo Library, Provo, Utah
Puget Sound Bird Festival, Edmonds, Washington
Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, Harlingen, Texas
Stikine River Birding Festival, Wrangell, Alaska
Sunriver Nature Center, Sunriver, Oregon
TEDx Salem, Salem, Oregon
Tennessee Ornithological Society, Nashville, Tennessee
The Nature Conservancy, Lincoln, Nebraska
Three Rivers Birding Club, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Travis Audubon, Austin, Texas
Tucson Audubon, Tucson, Arizona
Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival, Sedona, Arizona
Virginia Beach Winter Wildlife Festival, Virginia
Whooping Crane Festival, Port Aransas, Texas
Wings Over Water Birding Festival, Blaine, Washington
Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival, Hatteras, North Carolina
Wings Over Willapa Festival, Long Beach, Washington
Winter Wings Festival, Klamath Falls, Oregon
Yampa Valley Crane Festival, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
TEDx Conference, Salem, Oregon
Museum of Natural History, New York
Leica Gallery, Hollywood, California
National Gallery, Singapore