Volume 1 No. 4 The New Groveland Graphic serving Groveland, Mascotte/Green Swamp Area
date: December 30, 2011 new releases every two weeks
Gathering
for the birds
by Linda Charlton
Graphic reporter
Dateline: Monte Vista
It's no secret that the folks at The Florida Scrub-Jay Trail support the Florida
Scrub Jay. And those who have visited the Scrub-Jay Trail in the Monte Vista
area, southwest of Clermont may have noticed the little solicitation notices to
the effect that the 'bird' people are raising funds to build a rehabilitation
center for injured Scrub-Jays and other songbirds.
Well this year those 'bird' people put their fund-raising efforts out there in a
big way: specifically, a WinterFair held December 17 at the Trail: an event
where folks paid to come together for the outdoors, the kayaking, the toasted
marshmallows, roasted chestnuts, roaming alpacas, the blacksmiths, the
folksingers, the horse-drawn wagon rides through the orange groves - and the
birds.
The Scrub-Jay Trail is located at B.B. Brown's Gardens on Monte Vista Road.
Cathy and Bruce Brown are proprietors of the Gardens, and the driving force
behind the formation of the Florida Scrub-Jay Consortium.
Speaking the day after the event, Cathy Brown said "numbers were a little
smaller than I would like to have seen, but the actual event was a smashing
success. I feel very good about it."
To the right is an actual picture of Scrub Jay. Courtesy photo.
The Trail is habitat for the endangered Florida Scrub Jays, and does have some
of the little blue birds in residence.
Several years ago, the Browns came across their first injured Scrub Jay. At the
time the nearest rehabilitator licensed to take in songbirds was in Altamonte
Springs. The bird recovered, but not enough to be released back into the wild.
So it ended up in the Brevard Zoo. The Browns figured that Lake County should
have its own place for injured songbirds to go. When the rehabilitator in
Altamonte Springs died, the Browns got serious about creating a reabilitation
facility right there, by the Trail. They got a grant, they got plans, they got
licensing, they did their homework. Then the local economy crashed.
They
are still in the fund-raising stage.
"Ironically," says Cathy Brown, "for the past three years we have been
facilitating (rescues) in five counties."
They know who to call. They have veterinarians on call. They know who takes what
kind of critters. Civilians call them asking for help with injured wildlife -
sometimes "at two in the morning," according to Brown. County animal control
departments also call them for help.
As Brown points out, with across-the-board budget cuts in local governments,
getting a government officer to come out and pick up an injured animal or bird
is considerably more difficult than in the past. And civilians who call for help
frequently do not realize that the people they are calling are volunteers.
So they are still raising funds, and money is tight.
For more information on the Florida Scrub-Jay Trail, and the Consortium, visit
www.scrubjaytrail.org.