David graduated from Stephen F Austin University in 1974 with a degree in Wildlife Biology and a minor in Forestry. He has been in the outdoors his whole life including being a waterfowl hunting guide for 15 years but started birding seriously only about 15 years ago. He was the birding program leader for Galveston FeatherFest for three years and has also led the bird counts at the Baytown Nature Center for ten years. He is co-compiler for the Old River Christmas Bird Count and participates in several other Christmas Bird Counts each year. He currently serves on the Friends of Anahuac Refuge (FOAR) board of directors.