Capital Soup

Florida News Straight From the Source

You are here: Home / Archives for Florida scrub-jays

Florida scrub-jays

Florida scrub-jays play starring role at Feb. 3 festival

Posted on

FWC photo by Craig Faulhaber

Florida scrub-jays play a starring role among the many birds you see in Florida. They are the only bird species that lives exclusively in this state. You won’t find them anywhere else.
They are in the spotlight again at the upcoming Florida Scrub-Jay and Wildlife Festival on Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Lyonia Preserve in Deltona. The free festival in Volusia County offers an 8 a.m. early-bird hike, and continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with eco-buggy rides, guided hikes, wildlife exhibits and presentations, and activities for kids.
Scrub-jay populations have decreased by about 90 percent since the late 1800s, primarily because of the loss of scrub habitat in Florida. Lack of natural or prescribed fire to maintain vegetation height and sandy openings on scrub lands also contributed to their decline. Florida scrub-jays are currently listed as a federally-designated threatened species.
Increase your opportunities for seeing and helping Florida scrub-jays by:

  • Visiting the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) wildlife management areas with scrub habitat – such as Lake Wales Ridge Wildlife and Environmental Area, Salt Lake WMA and Platt Branch WEA – to watch Florida scrub-jays in the wild. Ocala National Forest and Seminole State Forest also are good places to look for scrub-jays.
  • Volunteering with Jay Watch, a citizen science effort coordinated by Audubon Florida. Jay Watch volunteers are trained to conduct scientific surveys that measure the population numbers and nesting success of Florida scrub-jays. The FWC is a Jay Watch partner.
  • Keep your cats indoors if you live near scrub-jay habitat.
  • Reduce use of pesticides around your home, since scrub-jays feed on insects.
  • Report harassment or harm to scrub-jays or their nests to FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline, 888-404-FWCC (3922).

What is the Florida scrub-jay call like? More like a screech than a song, since it is related to species like the crow. And like crows, scrub-jays are bold, smart and full of personality. Hear the sound of a Florida scrub-jay by going to AllAboutBirds.org and searching for Florida scrub-jay.
Florida scrub-jay biology and behavior information can be found at MyFWC.com.

FWC relocating Florida scrub-jays to increase populations

Posted on

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and Florida Forest Service, is relocating Florida scrub-jays to increase this threatened species’ populations on public lands.
The goal is to relocate – or “translocate” – birds from a stable population in the Ocala National Forest to areas of restored scrub habitat not yet discovered by Florida scrub-jays. 
Earlier this year, FWC research biologists relocated nine Florida scrub-jays from Ocala National Forest to Seminole State Forest, about 20 miles away. The translocated birds established new territories in their new home. Researchers will monitor each population’s progress throughout this year’s breeding season.
The Florida scrub-jay is one of the most imperiled bird species in North America. Most remaining populations are small – with less than 25 breeding pairs – and relatively isolated from each other. Florida scrub-jays are non-migratory and have difficulty dispersing long distances when their available habitat is fragmented.
Translocation is a strategy to improve population sizes, increase connectivity among populations, and preserve genetic diversity of this and other imperiled species. Previous efforts to relocate Florida scrub-jays typically involved small numbers of scrub-jays taken from private lands with a federal incidental take permit. The FWC and its partners hope that the current research project will help clarify when and how biologists can use translocation on public lands.
The partnerships with land managers provide vital assistance with the translocation experiments. U.S. Forest Service and Florida Forest Service staff are championing restoration and management of Florida scrub-jay habitat in central Florida by using prescribed burns. Prescribed burning is necessary to maintain the low and open structure of vegetation in Florida scrub habitat, which is critical to the survival of the Florida scrub-jay.
People can help Florida scrub-jays by supporting habitat management on FWC’s Wildlife Management Areas. Florida’s WMAs conserve nearly 6 million acres of well-managed habitat for scrub-jays and other wildlife. This year is the WMAs’ 75th anniversary, so join us in celebrating events around the state!

Florida scrub-jays will be in the spotlight at Feb. 18 festival

Posted on

Picture a light gray-brown bird with a bright blue head, wings and tail. That’s how you can recognize the Florida scrub-jay, the only bird that lives nowhere else but in Florida.
Come celebrate this songbird at the 8th annual Florida Scrub-Jay Festival on Saturday, Feb. 18, at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, about 12 miles south of Stuart on U.S. 1.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the festival will offer guided walks, exhibits, swamp buggy and hay rides, kids’ activities, entertainment and food. There will be an opportunity to meet Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) staff and partners that are helping conserve this threatened species. The FWC is one of the festival’s organizers.
The Florida scrub-jay is distinctive because of its unusually cooperative family lifestyle.
“The Florida scrub-jay lives in family groups composed of a breeding pair that mates for life and its offspring. Young scrub-jays often stay with their parents for one or more years and act as helpers to defend the family’s territory and raise young. Breeding pairs with helpers successfully raise more young than lone pairs,” said Craig Faulhaber, the FWC’s avian conservation coordinator.
“Because Florida scrub-jays are very territorial and don’t migrate, people may get the chance to watch events in the life of a scrub-jay family throughout the year. Family members work together to defend territories averaging 25 acres from other scrub-jay families, with at least one member always on the lookout for predators,” said Faulhaber.
The Florida scrub-jay is one of the many wildlife species you may spot at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. It needs sandy scrub habitat to survive, but its populations have been impacted by habitat loss, agriculture and the lack of natural or prescribed fire to maintain vegetation height and sandy openings on scrub lands. Scrub-jay populations are thought to have declined by as much as 90 percent since the late 1800s.
What is its call like? More like a screech than a song, since it is related to species like the crow.Hear the sound of a Florida scrub-jay by going to AllAboutBirds.org and searching for Florida scrub-jay.
People can help Florida scrub-jays by:

Find out more about Florida scrub-jays by going to MyFWC.com/Imperiled, clicking on “Listed Species,” “Birds” and then “Florida scrub-jay.”