Wildlife Spotlight: Scrub-Jays
|
Scrub-Jay
|
Half Moon hosts one of the few remaining populations of federally threatened
Florida scrub-jays in Sumter County. Distinguished from the blue jay
by lack of a crest, these scrub-jays inhabit Half Moon’s scrubby
flatwoods, using unimproved roads and fire lanes for foraging and acorn
caching in place of the patches of bare sand found in the scrub they
typically inhabit.
Biologists survey scrub-jays on calm, clear days beginning one hour
after sunrise and ending before the heat of midday. Scrub-jays are attracted
by playing a tape recording of territorial calls and scolds, including
the female "hiccup" call. A baseline survey conducted on Half
Moon in 1990 detected an estimated 15 scrub-jay groups, each consisting
of 1-6 birds. Since then, the population appears to be declining but
more aggressive habitat management and population monitoring efforts
are cause for optimism.
Return to Wildlife
