The Florida Scrub-Jay is our state’s only endemic bird species, found nowhere else in the world. In 1987 it was listed as federally Threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under the Endangered Species Act. This is largely due to loss of its native scrub habitat and decades of fire suppression that allowed the scrub to become overgrown and unsuitable for Scrub-Jays.
The state’s population of Florida Scrub-Jays is estimated to have declined by 90% since the early 1800s. Between 1993 and 2010 our state’s Scrub-Jay population declined another 26%, mostly on public lands where they are generally better protected.
Audubon Florida coordinates the Jay Watch citizen science program statewide. Volunteers are trained to conduct scientific surveys that measure annual nesting success and count the total number of Florida Scrub-Jays at more than 46 sites in 19 counties. (Click here for more info and how to get involved.)
Below is Archbold Biological Station’s new 20-minute film ‘At Home in the Florida Scrub’ featuring the federally Threatened Florida Scrub-Jay, narrated by Archbold’s Education Coordinator Dustin Angell.
This film was a co-production between Archbold Biological Station (www.archbold-station.org) and Into Nature Films (www.IntoNatureFilms.org).