Visit Oscar Scherer State Park on April 22 to celebrate the Florida scrub-jay!
It is time to celebrate the only bird that lives nowhere else but in Florida. This light gray-brown bird with a bright blue head, wings and tail is none other than the Florida scrub-jay.
Come celebrate this songbird at the 34th annual Earth Day and 14th annual Florida Scrub-Jay Festival on Saturday, April 22, at Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the festival will offer guided walks, earth-friendly exhibits, tram tours, kids’ activities and contests, live entertainment and food. There will be an opportunity to meet Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) staff and partners who are helping conserve this threatened species. The FWC is one of the festival’s organizers.
This free event is held at 1843 S. Tamiami Trail, Osprey, FL 34229. For more information, view the flyer or visit Earth Day | Friends of Oscar Scherer park.
One of the distinctions of the Florida scrub-jay is its unusually cooperative family lifestyle.
“Florida scrub-jays mate for life and live in family groups composed of a breeding pair and their offspring. Juvenile scrub-jays often stay with the family for a year or two after fledging to help defend the family’s territory and raise new chicks,” said Madison Cole, the FWC’s Assistant Avian Conservation Coordinator. “Florida scrub-jays don’t migrate, which means wildlife viewers have the opportunity to observe the life of a scrub-jay family throughout the year.”
The Florida scrub-jay is one of the many wildlife species you could spot at Oscar Scherer State Park. Scrub-jays rely on sandy scrub habitat to survive but populations have been impacted by habitat loss, agriculture and the lack of natural or prescribed fire to maintain ideal vegetation height and sandy openings on scrub lands. Scrub-jay populations are thought to have declined by as much as 90% since the late 1800s.
What is its call like? More like a screech than a song, since it is related to species such as 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:
- Supporting habitat management and prescribed fires for scrub habitat on FWC wildlife management areas, including Lake Wales Ridge Wildlife and Environmental Area, Salt Lake WMA and Platt Branch WEA.
- Keeping cats indoors near scrub-jay habitat.
- Reducing use of pesticides around homes and golf courses since scrub-jays feed on insects.
- Reporting harassment or harm to scrub-jays or their nests to FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline, 888-404-FWCC (3922).
Find out more about Florida scrub-jays by going to MyFWC.com/Imperiled, clicking on “Listed Species,” “Birds” and then “Florida scrub-jay.”