Our scrub-jays have given many visitors a peek
into their world this past month. They are actively pursuing the
ideal nesting location and hard at work competing with the mockingbirds
and crows, much like last year. With the abundance of acorns this
year and lots of bugs moving around right now, we are hoping for
a banner baby year.
Many of the scrub-jays have moved into old citrus
groves, as they had at the Trail over 15 years ago. These lands
can be restored into wonderful scrub-jay habitat. We continue to
look to acquire much needed land and with your help we can offer
quality habitat for the next generation of Florida scrub-jays.
Please keep your eyes and ears open and contact us if you have
any sightings.
We had a special visitor to the Trail with Laura
Erickson (see below), working with us for a week to help
educate our younger and older generations about the The Florida
Scrub-Jay and other birds that affect habitat and lives of others.
We appreciate the time spent custom designing programs for Florida
FCAT standards. Thank
you Laura for your tremendous dedication, passion and
contribution to Florida's next generation.
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Trailday - Saturday, February 26 ,
2011
8am-11am
AND
County Adopt-a-Road Cleanup 8am-11am
It’s time for Spring cleanup activities on the Trail. The weather
promises to be perfect. Bring gloves, and clippers or loppers as
we will be pruning back the scrub oaks for prime-time nesting.
If
Trail work doesn’t tempt you, how about joining the road crew on
the Monte Vista Road cleanup? This covers a 2 mile section of the
road, and depending on the size of the volunteer group, each person
will cover approximately one mile of the road. We provide orange
day-glow vests, water, and bags. You should provide gloves and
a hat. The best part..... is the person who finds the most interesting
item wins a Florida Scrub-Jay T-Shirt! Always a blast!
Speaking
of T-Shirts..... Keep those photos coming! Last year's
winners of the most interesting places The Florida Scrub-Jay Trail
T-Shirt showed up - Italy and Australia.
 |
"Dan Cleary makes
new friends in Australia
" photo: Terri Cleary |
 |
"John & Becky Thomton
in Rome
" |
The
cookout will follow after the Trailday and the Road Cleanup . This
will be ready by 11:15 am and we will need people to help set up
and grill. Please let us know if you can help and if you will be
staying for the cookout.
Handy RSVP email form for the Trailday/Road Cleanup Cookout
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It’s been a busy month and, finally, we feel
Spring around the corner. There's been a lot of migration, both
avian and human. Laura Erickson, author of four
books, Science Editor at Cornell Lab of Ornithology, producer of
a daily radio Show, wild bird rehabilitator and educator, and keynote
speaker at this years Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival,
was our special guest. Immediately following the Festival, Laura
came to Lake County for a speaking tour.
Hundreds of students were
engaged at Imagine School of South Lake, Lost Lake Elementary
School and Umatilla Middle School followed up with a
program entitled “Close
Encounters of the Bird Kind” for adults at the Florida
Scrub-Jay Trail. This well received tour was sponsored in part
by The National Wildlife Federation, The Florida Scrub-Jay Consortium
and private donors like you. If you'd like to sponsor an upcoming
event please contact us at Stay
tuned for more programs in this series.
2nd Annual Florida Scrub-Jay
Festival
This traveling event was staged at Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge on February 12. Thanks go out to Dan &
Terri Cleary and Bill & Joyce Stefancic for
helping out with the Scrub-Jay Trail booth. It was a great event
and hundreds of people got a chance to see and learn about Florida’s
only endemic bird plus the contributing positive factors of control
burns, and how we are managing our lands for both threatened wildlife
and humans when it comes to water conservation. This was all offered
by way of guided tours, exhibition booths and many cultural experiences
involving music, story telling and hands-on events. A special thank
you goes out to our Host: Merritt Island National Wildlife
Refuge along with our sponsors, Merritt
Island Wildlife Assoc., CSISIGN Company. NASA Kennedy Space Center.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife , Ace Hardware and The
Florida Scrub-Jay Consortium.
Next year, we are
happy to announce the Festival will move to Oscar Scherer
State Park in Sarasota. We’ll keep you posted as the date approaches.
Visitors to the Trail
We continue to draw visitors
from far and wide. Some of this past months visitors came from
Colorado, Minnesota, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and
Ottawa, Canada to see the jays. Many were fortunate
to add the Florida Scrub-Jay to their life lists.
Thank you for
taking the time to stop and visit us in Lake County. We are happy
to have met you and look forward to your return.
11th Annual NWF Habitat
Stewards Training - Clermont, FL
March 5, 6 ,7, 2011
Last
chance as this will close out this week.
for more details.
Upcoming Workshop: Home Grown Herbs and Spices:
How to
Use Them In Daily Diet
for more details.
Photography Contributions
As always, we are proud
to show off your photos. When you visit, if you are happy with
a particular photo or two that you have taken and are willing to
share it with others,please forward those to . New
photos are posted regularly in the Gallery Section. Please include
your contact info for proper recognition.
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