Florida Scrub Jays are amazing creatures. I love everything about them. One thing that I don’t like is that they are not very prolific reproducers. In the decade plus of me visiting and studying this magnificent creature, I’ve probably only seen less than a dozen offspring.
They typically lay 2-4 eggs at a time. Breeding season is early and late in the year. Of the four eggs they lay, maybe two or three will actually hatch. Of those two or three babies, maybe one or two will make it to the juvenile stage. The most I’ve seen at one time was 3 youngsters bac in 2021.
Once they are juveniles they have a great chance of survival. This is because of the cooperative breeding element of their groups. The entire family works together to raise the young fledgling which includes protecting it from predators.
Anyway, a single bird in my area made it through the entire process this spring and I figured I would share the video here. This bird is maybe 3 or 4 months old. This is the first time since I first saw it six weeks ago that it landed on my hand. I had been trying to get it comfortable with me the entire time. Mission accomplished!