Wherever Noah Strycker goes, he tends to be the center of attention. In 2015, Strycker, then 29, set a world record by tracking down 6,042 bird species in 41 countries. Since then, he’s been a birding superstar, headlining festivals and guiding walks around the globe.
But for a bunch of the women who attended a walk Strycker led in Key Biscayne, Florida in October 2017, he didn’t turn out to be the main attraction. Nor did the Magnificent Frigatebirds, the Indigo Buntings, or the dozens of other species the group was lucky enough to spot.
Instead, the six women, who hadn’t met before, found themselves drawn to one another.
Most of them had been on walks with Miami’s Audubon chapter and other bird clubs; several had been birding for over a decade. But they’d never felt comfortable in the birding community.