• Scrub Jays are on the Federal endangered list and live only in the scrub oak
• These Jays are very friendly & will beg peanuts by sitting on your hand, head or shoulder
• Only the established breeding pair mates; all others help raise the offspring

Before long, most visitors hear about our Florida Scrub Jay.  As the story goes, these small and friendly birds love peanuts.  In fact, they love them so much, all you have to do is stand with a peanut on your palm and offer it.  Sure, it's a handout.  Suddenly, from over your shoulder zips a quick jay who lands on your hand and grabs the nut with his beak.  In a micro-second the jay looks you right in the eye as if to thank you and then, flits away as quickly as he arrived.

It's a true story.

As you travel around the area, you see bits and pieces of a ranging scrub forest that once stretched 100 miles north and south barely more than 10 miles wide---home to these intimate jay families.  Families range from four or five birds to as many as eight.  As in any in-tact family, the breeding couple is the family's core.

They like to eat acorns, of course; a single jay is likely to consume over 7,000 a year.  Lots of other food is available in the scrub woods---berries, seeds, insects and spiders, even tree frogs, lizards and small snakes.

This endangered species is carefully watched by scientists at Archbold Biological Station, eight miles south of Lake Placid.  On-going scrub research has spanned nearly 60 years of our history and continues today.  The state of Florida and some private conservationist groups are setting aside as much scrub woods as possible to help ensure that this friendly little ambassador continues to welcome visitors.