Scrub Jay Counts Decline Along Lake Wales Ridge

Florida scrub jay populations are declining along the Lake Wales Ridge and the rest of Central Florida, stated an official from environmental groups monitoring the threatened bird.

According to a press release from The Nature Conservancy, a study revealed that scrub jay populations declined at 40 percent of the 15 "Jay Watch" sites on the ridge since they were first surveyed between 2002 and 2004. Two-thirds of the scrub jay populations at 26 other sites in the state also showed declining populations.

Cheryl Millett, who coordinates the Jay Watch program for The Nature Conservancy out of Babson Park in Polk County, said that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cited the habitat's shrinking size and growing unsuitability, both of which contributed to the shrinking scrub jay counts recorded over their surveys during the summer.

"They are adapted to scrub that has a height between 3 and 6 feet tall," Millett said. "With fire suppression over time, that scrub height has gotten higher, to 12 feet."

Millett explained that scrub jays may not produce offspring when the shrub oaks along the ridge become too tall and dense. During the winters, scrub jays hide oak acorns in the ground for its survival and they need an open area to do that.

Meanwhile, along the Lake Placid portion of the ridge, the Highlands County Audubon Society actually recorded an increase in number of scrub jay "family units," which represents nesting scrub jays and the juveniles with them.

Audubon members found 39 family units during its annual Christmas bird count performed last month. For statistical purposes, the Audubon Society rounds that figure up to the nearest five, or 40, to provide an estimate. The estimate during the December 2007 count which was higher than the 30 estimated in December 2006 and higher than the 25 approximated in December 2005.

It surprised Audubon President G.G. "Bud" Warren, who stated that there was a "proportional decline" between the scrub jay birds and its habitat at the ridge before he located the tallies for the past two years.

Warren did not suggest that the count indicated that scrub jays fared better locally, and he echoed Millett's statement that the scrub jay's populations are declining.

"Some people are more prone to see scrub jays," he said of the count.

The Audubon's Christmas count is conducted at a different time frame and is unrelated to The Nature Conservancy's "Jay Watch," which is held during June and July.