Our Mission: To preserve and protect the animals, plants, and natural communities in Indian River County through advocacy, education, and public awareness. |
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Bird Photo of the Month August 2012 |
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Title: Florida Scrub-Jay Sentinel: on the lookout! Their scrub habitat must be burned for two reasons. One, Scrub-jays need open space so the designated family sentinel can look out for predators (snakes, hawks, house cats). Two, open sand is primarily where each Scrub-jay caches up to 8,000 acorns per year for winter months! Yes, they can find most of them again as jays have excellent memories. In fact, they spend time digging them up and burying them again. Is that to remember locations, check acorn quality, or hide them from fellow jays? Forgotten acorns become the scrub oaks of tomorrow. Unique even compared to Western Scrub-jays, our truly native Floridians have traditional family values: monogamous, life partners, small family groups, no incest, homesteading in specific natural areas. They do not leave central Florida. Young usually stay several years as helpers to the parents: defending the family’s territorial rights, feeding fledglings and watching for and mobbing predators. After 2-3 years, young birds leave to find mates from other family groups and establish their own family territory. Their biggest challenge is finding a new, unoccupied territory when their scrub habitat is rapidly disappearing. Juanita Baker, Coordinator |
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