Florida Scrub Jay: Losing Ground

The Florida scrub jay, declared threatened due to habitat loss, is a unique bird found no where else. There are other scrub jays, but the Florida scrub jay is a bird all its own. Unfortunately, that's part of what's bringing its downfall.

In the early morning fog, campers gather at the entrance to Lake Kissimmee State Park. Children drop peanuts on the ground while an adult cups his hands a nd mimics the raspy call of the Florida scrub jay. Within minutes, 2 sentinel jays are perched in the treetops, making sure the coast is clear. Then one by one, a family of Florida scrub jays begin to flutter to the ground like bright blue leaves.

A boy holds a peanut in his open hand. To everyone's amusement, a jay lands on the boy's head, looking around curiously, before hopping forward, taking the nut and flying off. There is a mutual curiosity and affinity between the human family and the Florida scrub jay family as they meet on this neutral ground.

Note: it's against the law to feed or harass wildlife, and doing so may result in a fine.

But neutral ground is getting increasingly harder to find for the Florida scrub jay. The high, dry habitat it calls home is also coveted by citrus growers and developers, and the Florida scrub jay usually ends up the loser in this three-way struggle for territory. Despite being listed as a threatened species in 1987, the population has continued to decline by some 25 to 50%. Ironically, the bird that trusts people enough to eat from their hands is threatene d with extinction by the same.

Blue and Friendly

A cousin of the scrub jays common in the western United States and Mexico, the Florida scrub jay is found only in the Sunshine State. These birds are about a foot long from head to tail and mostly blue, lik e blue jays. They have a light gray forehead and white throat. Their crestless head is blue, and so are their wings and long, loose, tail feathers. Their beak and legs are black, and their back and leg feathers are gray. Young ones, less than 6 months old, have a brownish head and neck.

Florida scrub jays have a varied diet. Acorns are their favorite -- eaten all year long, especially during winter when insects, their next favorite meal, are scarce. They gather and bury thousands of acorns they can feed on any time. They also prey on spiders and lizards, and young frogs, snakes and mice. But without live food, they are content pecking on berries, sunflower seeds, corn and peanuts. And as one Florida scrub jay demonstrated by landing on the little boy's head, these jays are known to be friendly enough to eat nuts and seeds from the palm of a bird lover's hand.

A Threatened Bird in a Threatened Ecosystem

As the name implies, the Florida scrub jay thrives in a scrub, which is an extremely dry habitat. Their ideal environment is a relatively open flatwoods of oak or sand pine scrub with trees less than 10 feet tall, wide apart and providing minimal canopy cover. Most of this scrub is bare ground having a few plants that are less than half a foot tall. Florida scrub jays don't do well in damp and dark forests, so the dry, sandy, open locations prevalent along the Florida peninsula are what they call home.

Unfortunately, scrub areas are also the most prone to human habitation. Relatively easy to clear and build structures on, some scrub habitats that were once Florida scrub jay territory have been converted to residential and commercial areas.

What makes scrub areas more appealing to development is they are also ideal for grazing cattle and growing oranges. Environmental experts have actually reported that the Florida scrub is one of the most endangered ecosystems in all of North America.

As most of the scrub habitats are urbanized, considerably destroying and fragmenting the Florida scrub jay habitat, other factors contribute to the demise of the threatened species. Pesticides, busy roads and house pets become serious threats to the jays' reproduction and survival. The suppression of natural fires, causing scrub vegetation to grow too dense for the scrub jay, also adds to their displacement.

Faithful to the Territory

It was thought that displaced bird families could simply move on and establish another home in another scrub. This, however, is not the case because the Florida scrub jay is highly territorial. Disruption of habitat quickly leads to upset reproduct ion, rejection and isolation.

This stems from the fact that the Florida scrub jay mates for life. A breeding pair establishes a permanent territory of about 25 acres, which they protect from other Florida scrub jay families. They build a nest (a shallow b asket of twigs and palmetto fibers) about 8 feet above ground and raise 1 to 2 broods of hatchlings from clutches of 3 to 4 eggs in a year.

The hatchlings stay with the primary family for a year or so, helping to feed the next brood and standing watch for predators and trespassers. Families stay together in the same territory for many years. This strict territoriality makes it hard for the Florida scrub jay to adapt to another scrub after their established homes have been compromised. So, as you might guess, relocating them won't work.

The last recorded po pulation count of Florida scrub jays is just a little over 2,000, mostly located in the Kennedy Space Center but also in some scattered scrubs all over central and southern Florida. Hopefully, while now labeled as threatened and protected by the United St ates Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the jays will have a fighting chance at survival in their designated preserves and sanctuaries.