News Archives

The Trailhead is located in Lake County, Florida. map

For more information, please contact info@scrubjaytrail.org
(352) 429-5566

open:
sat - wed : 8:00-5:00

Email photo contributions
of wildlife or plants seen
on the trail to this address: photos@scrubjaytrail.org

The "Dog Days" of summer are finally starting to lose their bite, as refreshingly cool mornings and pleasant breezes are starting to make it easier to work out on the Trail.
Many visitors to the Trail have agreed that this past August has been one of the hottest
in recent memory.

September Orientation Program

Fifteen new people experienced the Trail this month and planted a few trees and shrubs
to commemorate their visit.
We're looking forward to seeing many of them return for the Trailday, coming up on September 22 from 8am-11am.

The youngest member of the group, 7 year old Christina Hohne, wants to volunteer "on
a regular basis". We're happy to have her come back and bring her friends, too.

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This time of the year, the scrub-jays are extremely busy foraging for acorns for their winter food supply. We've been observing the Scrub-Jay Trail family expanding their range from
the big quercus geminata  (sand live oak) across Monte Vista Road , down to the trees by
the lake. Every once in a while they'll take some time to pay us a visit, with the baby making a very raucous presence.

The September Orientation group was getting concerned that the jays might not be seen close-up, but in typical fashion, at the very last minute, they flew in formation to the group, and two of them simultaneously landed on Neal Rossdeutcher's head!
Photo op extraordinaire!

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We had a very special visitor to the Trail this month.
Paula Sisson, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife office in Jacksonville, came down and spent several hours learning about the Scrub-Jay Trail, the Lake County jays, and the good work being done by the Trailblazers and other volunteers to save the Scrub-Jay.

USFWS will have a stronger presence here in Lake and promises to support the efforts of the Florida Scrub-Jay Consortium and the growing number of private citizens who are working to expand the jays' habitat.

Paula would like to come back again for a Trailday. We'd love to have her, and will let you all know when so you can meet her.

The September Trailday falls on the 22nd , from 8:00am to 11:00am. We're looking forward to seeing you again!

Weeding is the most prominent task to accomplish, as those of you who haven't seen
the Trail in a month will find out. Camphor weed is the Invasive Du Jour, and as pretty as its' yellow flowers are, it's just taking over. Fortunately, they're easy to pull, and when they're removed, what remains is a lot of open sandy space. This will make the scrub-jays happy, since they're actively looking for open sand to cache their acorns.

We will be accepting contributions to the breakfast table, and anxiously await the next
Judy Clark Culinary Delight. She keeps raising the bar and you have to wonder how
she keeps topping herself.

Please RSVP so we'll know how many people to expect.
Contact us at    info@scrubjaytrail.org   or   352-429-5566.

We hope to see you soon, and until then, go out and save a scrub-jay.