Scrub Jay Day At Dickenson State Park March 16

Visit Jonathan Dickinson State Park on March 16 to celebrate the Florida scrub-jay!

It is time to celebrate the only bird found solely 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 fourth annual SpringFest and 15th annual Florida Scrub-Jay Festival on Saturday, March 16, at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound, Florida.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the festival will offer guided walks, earth-friendly exhibits and vendors, 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 will be held at 16450 SE Federal Highway, Hobe Sound, FL 33455. For more information, visit the SpringFest and Scrub-Jay Festival 2024 event page by going to Facebook.com/FriendsOfJonathanDickinsonStatePark and clicking on “Events,” then “SpringFest & ScrubJay Festival 2024.”

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, FWC 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 Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Scrub-jays rely on sandy scrub habitat to survive but populations have been impacted by habitat loss, land use change 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 crows. 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, such as the 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.”