September 4, 2026

I am an adult male Florida Scrub Jay

You know I'm male because I have a wife

You know she's my wife cause she makes a hiccup call,

And stays with me, and gave our offspring life.

(This is one of my favorite Florida Scrub Jays. He was one of the first ones that I helped to train for banding back in 2020.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://www.verobeachmagazine.com/features/one-jay-at-a-time/

Photo and text © 2026 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

July 23, 2023

I am a Florida Scrub Jay

I have a broken beak.

I might have been predated,

Or was like this when created,

Either way, my future looks bleak.

(This is one of the birds in my monitoring area. We are not sure what happened to him - we haven't seen it for a while so have not been able to trap it for rehab.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://birdfact.com/articles/why-do-birds-have-beaks

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

January 31, 2023

I am a Florida Scrub-Jay

The lower part of my leg can no longer be seen

I most likely lost it to a predator

Now I go by the name Eileen.

FYI, this bird appears to be healthy, is eating well, gets along with its family, can fly and land, and is able to put weight on the remaining stump. 

(Shout out to Chelsea for suggesting a name for this bird! )

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Florida_Scrub-Jay/id

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

January 30, 2023

I am a Florida Scrub-Jay

My tail looks striped here, but it is not

It is actually just an odd shadow

But I tell friends my dad is a hawk. 

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Florida_Scrub-Jay/id

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 13, 2022

(continued from yesterday)

I am a baby Florida Scrub-Jay

But now I've got lovely jewelry

When I got it, I pooped on a volunteer's pants

I was tired of bird-banding tomfoolery.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: To see an example of research made possible by having banded birds, see: Mumme, Ronald L., Reed Bowman, M. Shane Pruett, and John W. Fitzpatrick. “Natal Territory Size, Group Size, and Body Mass Affect Lifetime Fitness in the Cooperatively Breeding Florida Scrub-Jay.” The Auk 132, no. 3 (2015): 634–46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/90009076.

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 12, 2022

I am a baby Scrub Jay

You can tell cause I have a brown head

I also don't wear any jewelry yet

But I will soon, now that I've fledged. 

(To be continued...)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Florida_Scrub-Jay/id

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 1, 2022

David Simpson's got a strange growth on his head

It's oddly shaped, blue and a tad ostentatious

Oh no! Now look! Dee's got one too

I fear Florida Scrub-Jays might be contagious. 

(Disclaimer: We did not encourage this behavior in any way. These birds just landed on us, David while he was walking, and me when I bent down to take the photos seen in yesterday's blog. Never entice or encourage wild birds to land on you, and never hand feed wild birds.)

Location: Cruickshank Wildlife Sanctuary, Rockledge

Sources: https://www.audubon.org/news/when-its-okay-or-not-feed-birds

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

December 11, 2021

I am a Florida Scrub-Jay, 

I normally wear 4 bands for ID

The silver one’s engraved with a number

That’s in general, too small to see.

So monitors use the combination of all four

To positively identify me.

And if one band should happen to fall off,

Monitors can use the remaining bands and history.

Note: One of this birds bands has fallen off, but I could determine who he was based on where he historically held his territory (where he hangs out), his mate, and his behavior.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://fsjconservation.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/florida-scrub-jay-banding-guidelines_final_2019_02_28.pdf

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 7, 2021

I am an adult male Florida Scrub Jay

I have a cyst on my left side by my wing

Although it is large, there is no discharge, 

And I can still eat, fly and sing.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: None. We have sent photos of this guy to many sources, and no one has seen anything like it, and I haven't found any resources about cysts/tumors on wild birds other than Avian Pox, which this is not. I do have additional photos if anyone wants to see them, but I thought they might be too graphic for this blog. But message me if you want to see them.

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 20, 2021

This is what Scrub Jay poop looks like

I'm sure it's something you've always wanted to know.

I poked it with a stick, for science, yeah, that's it!

But when a Jay's gotta go, he's gotta go. 

(I really did poke the poop with a stick - it was from a bird who is having a health issue, and when I saw him poop, I was curious as it looked weird. It was surprisingly rubbery. I need to find out if that is normal. I thought it would be kind of liquid like what they do on my windshield at inopportune times.)

Location: Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Florida_Scrub-Jay/overview

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

May 24, 2021

I am a Florida Scrub-Jay

In Florida, I am endemic

I am monitored by volunteers

And kept Dee busy during the pandemic.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://fl.audubon.org/get-involved/jay-watch

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

March 19, 2021

I am a Florida Scrub-Jay

I like to live in scrub area populated by oaks

I practice cooperative breeding which means

I live with extended relatives, including my folks.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Aphelocoma_coerulescens/

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 11, 2020

Location: Fellsmere, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

I am a Florida Scrub-Jay,
I hope my looks don't give you jolt
But I get uglier before I get pretty
During the time that I molt.

Sources: Angry Birds: Why Molting Makes Our Feathered Friends Grumpy

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 6, 2020

Location: Fellsmere, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

I am a molting Florida Scrub-Jay

I don't normally have poofy white eyebrows

I'm usually sleek and tidy

Unlike the hot mess you're looking at now. 

Sources: Dee at 8:00 a.m. - Scrub Jays

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 5, 2020

Location: Fellsmere, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

I am an immature Florida Scrub-Jay,
You can tell cause I've got a brown head
Also cause I make jokes like:
"I know you are" and "That's what she said."

Sources: Cornell Lab All About Birds - Florida Scrub Jay

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

June 12, 2020

Location: Fellsmere, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

We are Florida Scrub-Jays

Aphelocoma coerulescens is our scientific name

We live in the scrub and are endemic to Florida

Which is how we ended up with our name.

Sources: Cornell Lab All About Birds - Florida Scrub Jay

Photo and text © 2020 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

May 5, 2019

Location: Sebastian, Friendship Park

I am a Florida Scrub Jay
You can see on my ankles that I am banded.
That doesn't mean that I committed a crime
Scientists just want to know where I've landed.

Sources: What to Do if You Spot a Banded Bird

Photo and text © 2018 Dee Fairbanks Simpson