Speaking
Paul is an accomplished public speaker, award-winning author and photographer as well as a professional conservationist. This unique skillset combination has made Paul a sought after keynote speaker for events all over North America. From National Audubon’s first national convention in more than a decade, to birding festivals across the United States, from scientific conferences to non-profit fundraisers, Paul’s keynote presentations have met with exceedingly positive reviews. His programs combine breathtaking photos, compelling videos, evocative audio, the latest science and first-person stories from the field delivered with passion and an interactive style that keeps the toughest audiences engaged. Paul’s emphasis on natural history, surprising inter-relationships, habitat and conservation help ensure that his programs are as informative as they are spellbinding. He is equally effective and experienced with large groups of more than 2,000 to smaller intimate audiences to online presentations. The breadth and depth of his image library allow him to conduct a wide range of unique and ever-evolving programs so that many people return for multiple presentations.
Praise for Paul’s Talks
Selected Programs
Paul can deliver any of the many existing programs, or he can create custom versions of each presentation based upon a region, state, province, habitat or species.
Woodpecker: A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are the heart of North American forests in many ways. Their distinctive drumming sounds out a familiar rhythm, while their presence supports owls and a myriad other creatures. They have evolved in ways that make them ecologically critical to forest health, serving as keystone species in a variety of wooded habitats across the continent.
In this new presentation, Paul explores the often secret lives of woodpeckers from Alaska’s boreal forests to the oak woodlands of the West and Midwest and from the ribbon of Ponderosa Pine habitats that stretches from British Columbia through much of the Western states until they transition in southern Arizona to the Sierra Madre pine-oak that forms the spine of Mexico. Paul also explores the diversity in arid ecosystems straddling the US-Mexico border and the wet tropical habitats from Florida through the Caribbean Islands and southeastern Mexico.
Through first-hand experiences, more than 200 never-before published photographs and the latest science, Paul examines woodpeckers in every season: their courtship and nest selection in spring; life in the nest during summer; fledging and gaining independence in autumn; and the challenges of surviving the winter.
Paul also takes a closer look at the most important woodpecker habitats in North America and what we can do to protect them.
Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls
Join Paul Bannick for a program featuring video, sound, stories from the field and several dozen new images from his award-winning and best-selling bird book: Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls. Paul uses intimate yet dramatic images to follow owls through the course of one year and in their distinct habitats. Audiences will witness the four seasons on territory, as each stage in an owl’s life is chronicled through rare images: courtship, mating, and nesting in spring; fledging and feeding of young in summer; dispersal and gaining independence in fall; and, finally, winter’s migrations and competitions for food. His program shows how owls use the unique resources available to them in each habitat to face those challenges. All 19 species found in Canada and the United States are featured in photos, video and narrative throughout the book, with a special focus on the Northern Pygmy-Owl, Great Gray Owl, Burrowing Owl, and Snowy Owl. Owl is a stunning follow-up to Bannick’s bestselling title, The Owl and the Woodpecker, giving bird lovers yet another gorgeous photographic tribute, engaging natural history, and a compelling call to preserve the habitats that sustain these most iconic of birds. Nearly ten years of working in some of the most remote parts of the continent, at the darkest hours of the day, tracking owls as they move through their lives has rewarded Paul with striking images that he uses in his book and presentations. His program can broadly focus on North America or they can be customized for states, geographic regions or habitats such as the Arctic Tundra, Boreal Forests, Western Mountains Dry Forests, Temperate Forests, Mountain Meadows, Oak Habitats, Deserts, Shrub-steppe, Grasslands, and Eastern Forests.
Snowy Owl: A Visual Natural History
Join award winning author and photographer Paul Bannick on an intimate visual exploration of the life history of the Snowy Owl, based upon his 2020 book, Snowy Owl: A Visual Natural History”. Through dozens of never-before-published images of the “Arctic Owl”, Paul will help us understand how they survive, breed and live alongside other wildlife on the Arctic tundra and in wintering areas further south. He will also look at how they compare to other North American Owls and what we can do to help them thrive. Paul’s startling photographs illustrate behaviors, such as courtship displays, that are heretofore only available as illustrations elsewhere. These images are complemented by decades of first-hand experience with these birds during all seasons of the year and reflect the latest science.
Great Gray Owl: A Visual Natural History
Join award winning author and photographer Paul Bannick on an intimate visual exploration of the life history of the Great Gray Owl based upon his 2020 book, Great Gray Owl: A Visual Natural History”. Through dozens of never-before-published images of the “Ghost of the Northern Forest”, Paul will help us understand how they survive, breed and live alongside other wildlife in the Boreal forests and Western Mountains of North America. He will also look at how they compare to other North American Owls and what we can do to help them thrive. Paul’s startling photographs illustrate behaviors, normally hidden stages in life-history, that are elsewhere only shown through drawings. These images are complemented by decades of first-hand experience with these birds during all seasons of the year and reflect the latest science.
The Owl and The Woodpecker
Paul’s presentations on owls and woodpeckers take audiences on a visual and auditory exploration of habitats of North America through the owls and woodpeckers that most define and enrich these places. This photographic field report celebrates the ways the lives of these two iconic birds are intertwined with one another, and their role as keystone and indicator species for their environment. Audiences are immersed in the sights and sounds of forest, grassland, arctic, and desert, and in the entertaining and informative details of Paul’s narrative. The hidden life of these birds is obvious for those who know how to find it. Paul knows how to find it, and how to bring it to life for his audiences through photos, sound, and story. Paul has developed a new program titled “The Owl and The Woodpecker Revisited” which uses entirely new photos, information and stories gleaned from the several years since Owl and Woodpecker’s release, while following the same themes.
The Great Gray and The Snowy Owl: Comparative Natural History
Join award winning author and photographer Paul Bannick on an intimate visual exploration of the life histories of the Snowy Owl and the Great Gray Owl based upon his two books, “Snowy Owl: A Visual Natural History” and “Great Gray Owl: A Visual Natural History”. Through dozens of never-before-published images of the “Arctic Owl” and “The Great Gray Ghost”, Paul will help us understand how what these two species have in common and how they differ. Comparisons will involve everything from size, weight and build to habitat, prey species and life cycles.
For rates and availability please contact a69e16a69e16
