Meet Alicia Jay! Our local bird lady!

by Alicia Jay

How I became the local “crazy bird lady” I was born & raised in Stuart in 1975. I grew up without technology, without the internet & playing outside until the street lights came on. My youngest uncle was only 10 years older than me & passed his affinity of the outdoors to me.

I remember when I was very young him taking me on a canoe after Hurricane David came through, behind our home in Coral Gardens, to explore what is now Willoughby. I remember him explaining to me everything I was witnessing & I was instantly fascinated!

The hunting animals were driven to higher ground with their prey & in that time, they were ALL just trying to survive so they were all “getting along” for the moment to continue the circle of life another time. He taught me to fish, tie fishing knots, hook bait, clean the fish. He also taught me about good nope ropes versus the bad ones (snakes) & even how to skin & clean those as well to be able to dry the skins for display.

We hunted, fished, harvested as much as we could & that was my foundation of a healthy respect for the Florida wildlife. In my early 20’s I owned 25 acres of hunting property in Fort Drum along a cypress swamp.

I spent MANY hours not just harvesting meat for our freezers but also hunting images with my (then film) camera. I spent countless hours just sitting, waiting, watching, praying for something really awesome to come along. I have photographed many images of rare butterflies, flocks of wild turkey, deer, wild boar, vultures, and even the occasional bobcat. That time I spent out with nature (some days I would be gone as many as 12 hours with nothing but my camera, & my camouflage bucket filled with snacks, books & extra rolls of film) taught me that patience is the key & to never be caught unaware. As time went on & life got super busy, becoming a wife a mother etc with full time jobs & responsibilities for all, I had forgotten the peace that time of my life had given to my soul. I had gotten so stuck in a rut & with the rat race I had lost sight of what’s important: a peaceful life.

Fast forward to 2019 – I’m now a single mother purchasing a home for me & my daughter to secure both of our futures & shortly there after? Enter a world wide pandemic! I felt like the rug had been pulled out from beneath me & I was drowning…..