MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida scrub-jays, once teetering on the brink of extinction, might finally see brighter days ahead. Thanks to a renewed conservation initiative by Mosaic Company and dedicated environmentalists, these unique birds may soon experience a resurgence in their population.
“It’s quite uncommon,” remarked Raoul Boughton, who leads ecology and wildlife efforts at Mosaic. “Imagine it as discovering a gem, a true diamond of the avian world.”
Having committed over two decades to this cause, Boughton is invested in turning Florida scrub-jay sightings into a more regular occurrence.
“Without our intervention, their extinction in multiple regions is almost certain — and regrettably, it has already happened in some areas,” Boughton emphasized.
Scrub-jays like to nest close to the ground in forests that recently burned down in wildfires.
Boughton says with increases to agriculture and development over the last century, those habitats have disappeared, taking at least 90% of the population with them. On top of that, he said that the birds typically don’t travel beyond a mile or two from where they hatched.
“It’s damaging to them in fragmented habitats because they can’t find their next patch,” Boughton said.
Boughton said they now have 56 breeding pairs of Florida scrub-jays. With the help of conservationists across the state, they brought in nearly 50 more birds from populations elsewhere in Florida to create a large group at the Wingate Creek State Park.
“You lose genetics,” he said. “Hopefully what happens is they breed more and breed faster and produce better young that can actually do the same thing.”
Their goal is to hit 100 breeding pairs of scrub-jays, saying that amount could fortify the species for the next century.