Animal Nature: An Oregonian among penguins

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

By Katy Muldoon, The Oregonian The Oregonian

 

View full size  Noah StryckerAdelie penguins captured Noah Strycker's attention during an Antarctic research expedition.

 

Noah Strycker of Creswell wings around the state this month pushing his new book, "Among Penguins: A Bird Man in Antarctica" (Oregon State University Press, 224 pages, $19.95).

In 2008, a helicopter delivered Strycker and two companions to a remote field camp at the bottom of the world, leaving them with a three-month food supply and much to learn about the behavior, habitat and ecology of region's more than 250,000 Adélie penguins. Check out this delightful excerpt describing his first encounter with one of the debonair beasts:

"The bird was supremely curious. It teetered, wobbled and edged closer, then walked a slow, deliberate circle around us, inspecting the members of our sea-ice safety class from every angle ... With impeccable manners, the penguin did not touch anything. It carried the air of a gentleman adventurer, eager and friendly, generally reserved, and a bit reckless."

Then, Strycker writes, the penguin settled down, stretched out, and snoozed.

Among his appearances is a free presentation at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, in Heron Hall, Audubon Society of Portland, 5151 N.W. Cornell Rd.

Source