Cruickshank Scrub Jays

(letter N, my last stop)

My final destination on my cross-Florida adventure was the Cruickshank Sanctuary to photograph the threatened Florida Scrub Jay. Throughout my trip, I had yet to encounter this species, and figured a trip to specifically get them was in order!

After spending the morning at Gatorland in Orlando, I drove towards the Sanctuary and arrived there mid-day. I parked in the small parking lot, and decided to make a quick walk down the trail and see if I could locate and of the birds. Within seconds one flew down onto the trail and looked at me! An exciting life bird. I started to walk further down the trail when one landed on my head, while I was walking, and I realized I wouldn't have a problem getting close enough to photograph the birds!

I spent some time in the mid-afternoon with my macro lens, taking head shots of the birds while they sat in my hand. If you are thinking about making a trip to see the Jays, I would highly recommend bringing a large quantity of shelled un-salted peanuts! They will take as many as you have, and store them off in the thickets. The birds at the Cruickshank Sanctuary seem to be somewhat trained to land on your head, in hopes of getting a handout!

As the late afternoon light set in, I went back and grabbed my 600mm lens and went back for more photos. I thought about doing some set-up perches, but I decided to just see where the birds would land on their own, which turned out to be a good idea as they picked some lovely spots! The birds would fly in, looking for a handout. If they landed on a good perch, I would move into position, get my shots, then reward them with a peanut! At the end of the day I ended up with 700+ photos of the Jays in the one short afternoon! It was a very exciting photography experience for me.

I didn't spend much time photographing other species while in the area, but a male Red-bellied Woodpecker would occasionally follow the Jays around and try to steal their peanuts. A pair of Osprey were nesting close by, and often flew over low.

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