The Florida Scrub Jay holds a place near and dear to my heart. Known as one of the great migration states, hundreds of bird species pass through or winter here in Florida each year. But the Florida Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens, is indeed SPECIAL. It is the ONLY bird that is found no where else but in Florida. Having such a small range to live it is no surprise that they are threatened and their numbers are declining. Unfortunately the decline is mostly due to loss of habitat to development or agriculture over the past century. Thriving in what most see as unusable harsh wasteland, the scrub jay needs the arid sandy Florida scrub . A land where the oaks grow as low shrubs, the sandy soil cannot maintain water for long, and periodic fires are a necessity to survival. Most of this original scrub is still prominent in Ocala and along the Lake Wales Ridge.
This gregarious bird caches acorns and nuts to store in shallow pits or sand covering them with leaves and stones. Although they like to put food away for hard times, the Florida Scrub Jay is considered Omnivorous and can be found feasting on a wide variety of insects, spiders, ticks, mites, mollusks, scorpions, mice and even the young of smaller birds. They will also consume plant matter including acorns, corn, and fruit.
Known as territorial birds, Scrub-jays live in “family groups” of two to eight birds. The Florida Scrub Jay is considered a Co-operative breeder with one nesting pair with fledglings over a year old staying near to help with the new brood.
This photo was taken in Half Moon WMA where a small population of roughly 30 birds is monitored by the FWC. Other places that you can see the Florida Scrub Jay here in Florida include: Ocala National Forest, Lyona Preserve, Lake Wales Ridge State Forest and Halpata Tastanaki Preserve.
