This year marks a milestone for Jay Watch: 25 years of volunteers, land managers, biologists, and conservationists coming together to monitor and protect one of Florida's only endemic bird species, the Florida Scrub Jay. What began as a small collaborative survey at 13 sites has grown into a statewide community science program with volunteers monitoring 47 scrub jay populations across 19 counties in central Florida. Jay Watch provides consistent annual survey data to land managers at scrub jay sites where staffing and budgets would limit the ability to conduct regular surveys. Jay Watch survey data can also help to direct resources to where they are most needed.
During the 2025 survey, a total of 210 Jay Watch volunteers surveyed 47 sites where they observed 624 Florida Scrub Jays including 477 adults and 148 juveniles. Florida Scrub Jays are listed as federally threatened birds under the Endangered Species Act, and for a quarter-century, Jay Watch has become a trusted source of long-term data used by both land managers and biologists. "The Jay Watch data is an outstanding resource that the Service has come to rely on over the years," said Todd Mecklenborg, biologist with the US Fish & Wildlife Service. "Having the annual data provides population trends and metrics for our species recovery efforts."
Following years of coordination by The Nature Conservancy and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Audubon Florida assumed leadership of Jay Watch and continues to build the program while strengthening partnerships with state and federal agencies, researchers, and land managers. At the core of Jay Watch are the volunteers who return year after year, building familiarity with their study sites, the jays that inhabit the area, and one another. Their motivations are as varied as the scrub habitats they survey, but a common thread runs through them: Joy, responsibility, and purpose.
As much as volunteers get out of the program, their contributions amount to far more. "Our volunteer network distributed thousands of copies of Audubon Adventures that feature the Florida Scrub Jay to Audubon chapters, classrooms, and nature centers to help build a community for conservation," said Jacqui Sulek, former Jay Watch coordinator. At this point, 25 years in, Jay Watch shows the impact people can have when they work together. The data collected tell an important story, but the relationships that are formed by Jay Watch are what makes this exceptional effort impactful.
To refer to the original article, published last week by Audubon, see 25 Years of Jay Watch: People, Partnerships, and Florida Scrub-Jays | Audubon