Florida Scrub Jays in Brevard County: Florida Scrub Jays are a subspecies - related to the scrub jays that used to hang out on my back porch when I lived in the Rocky Mountain...

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Florida Scrub Jays in Brevard County

Apr 23, 2021 16:42:22 #

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Florida Scrub Jays are a subspecies - related to the scrub jays that used to hang out on my back porch when I lived in the Rocky Mountain foothills between Denver and Colorado Springs. The Florida Scrub Jays are endangered - they, like their western cousins - require a dry scrub land habitat. And dry land, as you might imagine, is at a premium in Florida and so is disappearing quickly.

A nice spot to find Florida Scrub Jays is the Helen and Allan Cruikshank Sanctuary in Rockledge. It is about five miles from the Viera Wetlands, and probably about 20 miles south of the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. On County Rd 502 (Barnes Boulevard), four miles East of the I-95 exit, and about 300 yards West of Route 1, on the North side . This is a small area of scrub that was set aside by the Cruikshanks when they saw all of the surrounding area being swallowed up for home development. You can walk around once in about 30 minutes. You might see some gopher tortoises along with the jays, and some resident osprey. The scrub jays are not afraid of humans - in the past people would be amused by placing peanuts on their heads - the jays would sit on the head or hat and eat the peanut: feeding them is now illegal.

These photos are from today, taken with an "old" Canon EOS 6D with an "old" Canon 100-400 EF lens.

Dry scrub land - near the ocean but about 100 feet elevation.