Florida Scrub-Jay: The Heart of Ecotours at Oscar Scherer State Park

Florida Scrub-Jay is the Mascot for Ecotours in Oscar Shearer State Park.

The Florida Scrub-Jay is the official mascot of Oscar Scherer State Park. ScrubJay is a curious and friendly resident of the open scrubby flatwoods habitat on the North and East sides of the park. Her blue features make identification easy because it’s similar to a blue jay, but scrub-jay has a grey back without crest or collar. I’ve seen them several times in the park , but they aren’t always visible because overall population numbers are low. The species is federally and state recognized as Threatened.  (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)

Native Plant Society spotlights the Scrub-Jay

The friends of Oscar Sherer organize programming at the park and this week the Native Plant Society hosted a walk focused on the Scrub-Jay. (Mangrove Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society). The hike was expertly led and all the participants contributed observations and education. We didn’t see any scrub-jays, but we immersed ourselves in their habitat. We stooped and squinted to identify the tangle of plants that compose the dense tapestry of the Florida scrub. If I wasn’t with the good company of the Native Plant Society, I would have missed knowing that I was among Sparkleberry and Persimmon, which sound like whimsical libations at a midnight party hosted by the fairies. 

Scrub-Jay is a native Floridian

Seeing a Florida Scrub-Jay on a vortex ecotour is a good omen because it is an endemic species, which means that it is native to here and only found here-a sight only found in Florida! The park tags and tracks the Scrub-Jay population through their Adoption Program. (Oscar Scherer State Park Florida Scrub-jay Adoption Program). The program directly supports protection and preservation of the Scrub-Jay’s habitat within the park.

The Search for Scrub-Jays Took me to New Trails

Since I started operating ecotours in Oscar Scherer State Park, I’ve been leaving no trail un trodden.  Admittedly, there are some trails that I had not been on as an ordinary hiker. But, now, as a professional tour guide, it’s my personal mantle to cross every spur off my bucket list. So today’s hike was great because we ventured into the deep South pockets of the park. These trails are similar to the ones East of the legacy trail in that they are very open to the sun and sky. The quest to see scrub Jays prevails another day.

Oscar Scherer Vortex Tour (wet season)

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