Students launch effort to make threatened Florida scrub-jay official state bird

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A group of environmental science students at Seminole High School in Sanford have joined a decades-long effort to knock the mockingbird off its perch as the state bird and replace it with the Florida scrub-jay.

“Since the scrub-jay is found only in Florida, it should be chosen as the state bird without a doubt,” said Navya Sharma, a senior at Seminole High, noting the designation would bring attention to preserving the threatened bird’s natural scrub habitat.

Seminole commissioners agreed this week and voted unanimously to move forward a resolution that supports making the blue-and-white scrub-jay the Sunshine’s State’s official bird, along with designating it as the county’s official feathered creature.

Residential and commercial development throughout the state’s midsection has led to habitat loss for the spunky but friendly bird, Commissioner Lee Constantine said.

“Frankly, people should understand that this is not to just designate it as a state bird but to protect its habitat,” Constantine said Tuesday after listening to the Seminole High students’ presentation. “Because the problem is that its habitat has been continually destroyed throughout the state of Florida. … And just to say it’s a symbol and not protect its habitat, is a travesty.”

The students launched their campaign about a year ago when science and ecology teacher Kris Cole wanted to teach his advanced-placement students about effecting environmental change through the political process. They kicked off their project by urging Florida lawmakers through a letter-writing campaign to designate the Florida scrub-jay as the official state bird.

The bird is listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act, which means the species may face the danger of extinction in the foreseeable future if its habitat continues to be destroyed. Therefore, its habitat does have some limited protections from development, and the students noted that the state designation would not add any more restrictions.

But the students soon decided to take their project beyond writing letters and created the Wildlife Conservation Club of Seminole High.

“We figured it would give us more power,” said Caitlyn Nawrocki, a co-founder and co-president of the club.

They also met with the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission last spring, and have garnered the endorsement of more than 30 organizations, including student government associations for Hagerty, Oviedo, Lake Brantley and Lake Howell high schools. They were mentioned in an episode about the Florida scrub-jay on This American Life, a weekly public radio program that airs on more than 500 radio stations in North America.

The students point out that Florida has an official dessert: the strawberry shortcake; an official pie: key lime; an official animal: the Florida panther; an official flower: the orange blossom; and an official shell: the horse conch.

But according to Chapter 15 of Florida statutes, the state Legislature in 1927 never made the mockingbird the official state bird, despite most people thinking that it is, Nawrocki said.

“We are actually the only state that does not have a state bird,” she said.

Seminole Commission Chairman Amy Lockhart met with the students and encouraged them to make a presentation before commissioners.

“We have an official state pie, so why wouldn’t we have a state bird?” she said.

The mockingbird already is the state bird of Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Arkansas. And if Florida is going to have an official state bird, it should be one that is unique to the state, according to the students.

“It feels unfair that other states have a state bird, but ours officially does not,” senior Jane Flores said.

With a blue head, wing and tail, the scrub-jay closely resembles the more commonly seen blue jay.

But unlike blue jays, scrub-jays make a loud, scratchy and raspy sound that is often used to alert other scrub-jays of nearby predators, such as hawks.

They exist in close family units and generally live in the same area their entire lives.

The birds are smart too, despite sometimes flying into windows, the students noted. A Florida scrub-jay will bury hundreds of acorns a year, and return to the spots months later to dig them out.

But unlike most other birds, Florida scrub-jays tend to not shy away from humans. They have a tendency to squat on a person’s head to keep a lookout for predators, which is what happened several times when the Seminole students visited Lyonia Preserve in Deltona.

“Make sure you wear a hat,” Cole said.

A hundred years ago, Florida scrub-jays numbered around 50,000, according to estimates. Today, it’s estimated there are about 8,000 of them left, mostly concentrated in the Florida peninsula’s central regions.

Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida in Tallahassee, said her organization does not take a position on whether the Florida scrub-jay or the mockingbird should be the state bird.

“Our position is that we don’t choose between our kids, and all of Florida’s birds are our kids,” she said. “But these students have got a point: The mockingbird is a fairly common and widely distributed bird. The Florida scrub-jay is endemic to Florida.”

The Florida scrub-jay came close to becoming the official state bird several times since the late 1990s. But the effort repeatedly died, primarily after a campaign from Marion Hammer, now a former lobbyist for the National Rifle Association and a fierce defender of the mockingbird.

“Mockingbirds are remarkable song birds that are known to sing up to 200 songs,” she wrote in a 2021 editorial in the Palm Beach Post. “And unlike the mockingbird, the scrub-jay can’t even sing — it can only squawk.”

Last year, Sens. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, and Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, filed bills to give the Florida scrub-jay its due. But the bills failed to advance through the Legislature.

This year, state Rep. Sam Killebrew, R-Winter Haven, has filed legislation to give the scrub-jay its honorific perch.

The students recently met with state Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, and spoke via a teleconference with state Rep. David Smith, R-Winter Springs, to further their cause.

The Seminole students know moving a bill through the Legislature is filled with hurdles. But senior Emily Cummings said she’s optimistic.

“It all comes down to persuading people,” she said. “Since this beautiful bird is found only in Florida, it attracts bird watchers worldwide. … This is a huge opportunity to expand Florida’s ecotourism industry.”

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