Enchanted Clearing

A bright blue Florida Scrub Jay flies into a sun dappled clearing of the Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary. A tall cabbage palm reaches towards... more

by AnnaJo Vahle

Title

Enchanted Clearing

Artist

AnnaJo Vahle

Medium

Painting - Acrylic On Canvas

Description

A bright blue Florida Scrub Jay flies into a sun dappled clearing of the Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary. A tall cabbage palm reaches towards the sun in the background with shady Oak trees.
Scrub habitat has dwindled considerably in the past several decades as Florida has continued to develop. Wildfire suppression also leads to the natural succession of large oaks and trees which changes the habitat. In recent years, environmental groups within the state have made a strong effort at preserving Florida's remaining scrub through controlled burns and even clearing out areas of large trees to increase the size of a scrub habitat.
The Florida Scrub Jay was officially listed as a threatened state species by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in 1975 and it was listed as a threatened federal species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1987.
In 1993, there were estimated to be 4000 breeding pairs left in the wild. Despite the protections, the Scrub Jay is still thought to be on the decline. Studies done in Brevard County, once the most numerous Florida county for Scrub Jays, noted declines of about 33% since the 1993 census alone.

Uploaded

February 8th, 2012

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