Remembering a visit to the Florida Scrub-Jay Festival along with a visit to the Scrub-Jays at the Indian River Club back in February 2014.

Two fun days with Florida Scrub-Jays. Saturday, 8 February 2014, at the Lyonia Environmental Center in Deltona to attend the annual Florida Scrub-Jay Festival that moves around to a different location each year. And on Monday, 10 February 2014, an early morning visit with Joe Carroll and Roz James to the Indian River Club to check up on the Scrub-Jays there.

A Florida Scrub-Jay in flight at the Indian River Club. This is the banded male breeder launching himself into the air. Have to start right off with an action shot.

A collage of images from the Florida Scrub-Jay Festival shows the high points and the low points. The lowest point was that it rained all day moving most of the festival indoors. Luckily, there was room to hold it indoors at the Center. People sit stoically on the aborted eco-buggy tour through the Lyonia Preserve, at least for Susan Boyd and I since we arrived late and had to take the two seats being pelted with rain. We decided to jump ship five minutes in and walk back to the Center. Below that a photo of the exhibit hall and then an image of Dr. Reed Bowman from Archbold Biological Station giving his lecture on translocation of Scrub-Jays. Below that the Scrub-Jay Q&A panel discussion.

The live bird-of-prey show at the Scrub-Jay Festival featured rehabilitated birds that can’t be released back into the wild due to their injuries. Pictured is Michael Brothers from the Marine Science Center with a feisty Great Horned Owl (permanent shoulder injury). Other birds he showed off were an American Kestrel (stupidly raised by humans) and a Red-tailed Hawk (blind in one eye). Below are more pictures of Scrub-Jays from Monday’s early morning visit to the Indian River Club.



The unbanded helper. We think this is the female offspring of the two breeders at the site who is still hanging around with her parents.

An intricate spider web covered in droplets of dew. Don’t miss the premiere showing of my new program, The Secret Life of the Florida Scrub-Jay, at the Vero Beach Community Center this coming Monday night, 17 February 2014.