BCR 161: David & Tammy McQuade, Florida Birding
David and Tammy McQuade were high school sweethearts and have been married for 33 years. Tammy and David have always had a love of the outdoors. Their lives changed dramatically in 2012 when they saw the movie The Big Year. The idea of counting Birds and deliberately targeting species had a particular appeal. They started with a big weekend in 2013 and it hasn’t stopped since.
They work together at UBS Financial Services where David is a Senior Vice President of Wealth Management and Senior Portfolio Manager and Tammy administrates their team. David was recently recognized by Forbes magazine as Best in the State Wealth Advisor. Having clients in 34 states allows them to travel quite a bit and they found that birding is the perfect hobby to combine with their business travel.
To date they are the only couple in eBird to have had 3 consecutive years of over 600 species in the Lower 48. They currently have a US Lower 48 life list of 748/747. They administrate the SW Florida Bird Alert Group on Facebook, give presentations at local birding groups, and are guides at the local Cape Coral Burrowing Owl Festival. Additionally they are graduates of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Macaulay Library Sound Recording Workshop. They love doing long-range pelagics on their 30’ boat the McLagic in the Gulf of Mexico when time permits. David and Tammy are proud to have contributed to the science and data of the bird distribution in the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico and feel this is their greatest birding accomplishment.
Show Notes:
- How long have you been interested in birding?
- You have seen some rare and unusual birds. Tell me of those birds you’ve seen already this year?
- African Great White Pelican 3rd year visitor of Sanibel Island.
- And why is she so controversial?
- Sanibel is as birdy as it was years ago?
- SWFL/Sanibel was seriously impacted recently by red tide has it not?
- McLagic Pelagic birding in the Gulf of Mexico.
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