March 2011 Speaker

Our speaker for March will be Mr. Tad Fyock, a bird sculptor / photographer, who now makes his home on Bethune Beach. Tad was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up in the nearby Willamette Valley. It was while living in this beautiful valley that Tad first developed his love of wild things. He later attended Oregon State University, earning a BS in Geology and went on to earn an MS in Geology at the University of Washington.

Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany for 2 ½ years. After the service, he worked for thirty years as a Petroleum Geologist and was involved in projects from Alaska to Tunisia and from the North Sea to Patagonia.

Since retiring in 1994, Tad has devoted his time to bird sculpture - interpreting and portraying bird personalities and behavior in wood. He teaches bird sculpture at John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina and at the Treasure Island Art League in Tampa / St. Petersburg. He has won numerous awards for his pieces at art shows throughout Florida and also exhibits in two of our local shows. His work is in collections throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

Over the past several years, Tad has devoted more and more time to photography, again specializing in birds and nature.

Last November, Tad and his son-in-law visited The Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. He has developed an excellent slide show of his photographs from that trip and will further entertain us with comments on the flora and fauna being shown.

This is a great presentation and should also be of interest to your non-birder friends.