Noah Strycker is the author of the new book Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, A Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World. He also has written The Thing With Feathers and Among Penguins. He is associate editor of Birding magazine.
Q: Why did you decide to write your new book, and were you
working on it throughout the year you describe in the book?
A: This book is about birding the world - the adventures,
misadventures, and stories along the way. I kept a daily blog (on Audubon's
website) while traveling and then wrote the book after my big year, and those
were two very different writing projects.
The blog was literally a daily account of what I saw, where
I went, and who I met. The book, meanwhile, is a continuous narrative, focusing
on the highlights and people in these far-flung places.
Q: What first got you interested in birding?
A: My fifth-grade teacher suction-cupped a plastic bird
feeder to our classroom window, and it was a slippery slope after that! My
parents have a 20-acre property outside of Eugene, Oregon, with lots of birds
in the backyard. Growing up around nature is one of the best gifts any child
could have.
Q: Of the 6,000-plus bird species you saw during your
record-breaking year, were there any that particularly impressed you?
A: In Brazil, near the beginning of the year, I saw a Harpy
Eagle, the most powerful raptor in the western hemisphere. The Harpy lives only
in large rainforests in South and Central America, and eats monkeys and sloths.
I was lucky to stake out a nest near the Pantanal in central
Brazil, where the male Harpy Eagle flew in carrying half a coati (a
raccoon-like animal) in its talons, which are as long as a grizzly bear's
claws. When it spreads out its toes, this eagle's feet are the same circumference
as a dinner plate. That bird is seared into my memory.
Q: What impact did your "big year" have on you?
A: By visiting 41 countries in one year, I gained a snapshot
perspective of the world and its birds. I saw a lot of depressing environmental
issues, but also found a global community of bird lovers that didn't exist even
10 years ago.
Besides 6,000 birds, I came away from this adventure with a
network of new friends. By looking for birds, I found my own place in the world
- and, I hope, helped spread a little of that inspiration.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: A new book, called Birds of the Photo Ark, will be
published by National Geographic next April. It's a beautiful book with
photographs by Joel Sartore and my own essays about bird behavior, evolution,
and conservation.
I also spend about three months each year on expeditions to
Antarctica and the Arctic, and am looking forward to more fun adventures ahead!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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