The history of the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center centers around one woman known as the "Bird Lady". It is a name that our founder, Laura Quinn, earned over the years as she created a natural legacy rescuing and rehabilitating wild birds. Originally a statistician and mathematics teacher, Quinn always loved nature. She and her husband were sailors, eventually relocating to a home in Lower Matecumbe. When asked about her time on the boat, she said, "I'd get bored on the boat. I tried to knit or crochet, but woodworking seemed to be the thing I could do that was okay to get wet." To counter her boredom, Laura began carving native birds that she encountered in the Keys.​

Eventually her interest in avian species led her to collaborate with a veterinarian, Dr. Robert Foley. Together, they provided modest rehabilitation services in a facility behind her small oceanfront home. By reading bird books and observing Dr. Foley, Laura learned how to rehabilitate her feathered friends, helping them heal their broken wings, removing fish hooks, and raising the orphaned. But when the sick and injured birds she cared for increased in number and species, expansion became necessary. With a bit of well-deserved luck, Quinn acquired a 5.5 acre property on which only three-quarters of an acre could be developed - just enough space for a house and office. The rest of the property was (and remains) lush native vegetation, mangroves, hammocks, and wetlands.