Marion Hammer, the ghoulish octogenarian who retired last year after four decades as the NRA’s chief lobbyist in Tallahassee, is known primarily for the work she did to make Florida more violent and less safe. But despite being a bird enthusiast, I didn’t know until I read a recent (paywalled) Orlando Sentinel column that Hammer also wielded her influence to stop legislators from changing Florida’s state bird.
Yes, you read that right. In addition to amassing a nationwide body count with advocacy that inspired other GOP-controlled states to enact Hammer-like laws that loosened gun restrictions and encouraged vigilantism, Hammer has also controlled the state bird!
Over her interminable career as an NRA shill, Hammer developed a legendary grip on the wizened wedding tackle of statehouse Republicans. I think the only time she ever lost a fight was after the Parkland massacre, when MSDHS survivors shamed the GOP governor and statehouse into passing watered down and inadequate (but better than nothing!) gun safety laws over Hammer’s loud objections and threats.
Currently, the state bird is the mockingbird, and every now and then, there’s a call to change that because, while mockingbirds are delightful, they are not particularly associated with Florida. With an un-Florida-like official name, the Northern Mockingbird is found throughout the U.S. plus parts of Canada, Central America and the Caribbean. The mockingbird is also the state bird of several other U.S. states.
For the past couple of decades, Florida high school students have occasionally lobbied the statehouse to change the state bird to the Florida Scrub Jay, a bird that is found only in Florida. They are lovely birds, as you can see below. Scrub jays are also friendly critters — you can feed them by hand (though perhaps you shouldn’t), and they’ll land on your head if you make a handy vantage point.
The students who want to make the change reason that in addition to scrub jays being endemic to Florida and therefore a more appropriate choice, state bird status might make Florida citizens more aware of the scrub jays’ plight — the birds need protection because their species is threatened due to habitat loss — and encourage ecotourism.
But weirdly, Marion Hammer hates scrub jays. It’s not that she just likes mockingbirds more, she actively despises scrub jays. We know this because over the years, she has relentlessly defamed the birds and said misleading things to compare scrub jays unfavorably with mockingbirds:
Hammer once appeared before a committee to argue that the bird’s friendly behavior and willingness to eat out of human hands just proved the bird had a “welfare mentality.” (Orlando Sentinel)
“Mockingbirds are remarkable song birds that are known to sing up to 200 songs. And, unlike the Mockingbird, the Scrub-Jay can’t even sing – it can only squawk…”
“Scrub-Jays are evil little birds that rob the nests of other birds and eat their eggs and kill their babies.* One might call that street gang behavior in the avian community. The state bird is about representing Florida and that is the greater purpose. The Scrub-Jay simply doesn’t fit that purpose.” (Palm Beach Post)
“Since being designated the state bird in 1927, the mockingbird is a well-established, independent, prolific bird that has never needed government protection or our tax dollars to survive. It can be seen, watched, studied, and enjoyed by children and adults in all areas of Florida.” (Tallahassee Democrat)
We don’t know for sure that Hammer is the sole reason statehouse Republicans have killed multiple bills to make scrub jays the state bird. But it’s not a stretch to suspect it, given how deranged she seems on the topic and her well-known predilection for intimidating lawmakers to bend them to her will.
Now that the ghastly gunslinger no longer stalks the halls of the Twig & Two Berries Capitol Complex,** Hammer may find herself foiled by a group of kids on the scrub jay issue too — there’s a new bill up for consideration thanks to Seminole High School students’ wildlife conservation club. The kids persuaded a Republican to sponsor the bill and are actively lobbying other lawmakers to support it.
Hammer is squawking about it as usual (she can’t even sing — she can only squawk!), but it looks like the kids have the momentum. Here’s hoping the Seminole High students deal the bellicose gun-fondler another rare defeat.
Open thread.
*According to Cornell Lab, Florida Scrub Jays eat “insects, acorns, berries, and small vertebrates such as snakes, mice, and lizards.” There’s no mention of the birds eating eggs or nestlings. The Wikipedia entry for the species says scrub jays also “have also been occasionally observed to eat other birds’ eggs or nestlings, but this occurs rarely.” Observed by whom, one wonders? Maybe it’s true, but I wouldn’t put it past Hammer to have a grandchild edit the birds’ Wikipedia entry. //s
**Seriously, this is Florida’s capitol complex, and it’s architecturally appropriate because the symbolism of the supervillains who toil there working in buildings that immortalize their junk in concrete is PERFECT.
The Moar You Know
what the actual fuck is wrong with this person?
Elizabelle
Marion Hammer. I was hoping it was an obituary.
Dreadful bird.
Old School
Best of luck to the Florida Scrub Jay.
WaterGirl
This is who they are: birds have a welfare mentality. Un-fucking-believable.
edit: I should have said first that the little blue bird is adorable.
Josie
According to my sons, who both keep back yard feeding stations, mockingbirds are not exactly nice guys.
Mustang Bobby
Mockingbirds are also fiercely territorial and will swoop and attempt to harm folks who happen to unwittingly get too close to their turf. I’ve been dive-bombed by the little winged terrorists numerous times when I’m leaving my school and they’re perched in a tree. I respect their instinct to protect their young’uns, but they’re taking Stand Your Ground a little too seriously.
Math Guy
I nominate the dodo as the FL state bird.
Elizabelle
@Math Guy: Dodo. That works in so many ways. If we had a bird that got drowned, so much the better.
The passenger pigeon, of course, got shot into eternity. Poor birdies. So there is that.
I wish scientists would clone passenger pigeons, and we could have them back.
Miss Bianca
@WaterGirl: Yeah, wtf-ery all around. Scrub Jays are cool little birds – at least the CO ones are, I dunno about the FL ones, having never made their acquaintance; but sounds like they’re cool little birds as well.
kindness
We have Scrub Jays just like that out here in the Central Valley of CA. Up in the mountains, the Jays have crowns, much like what I grew up with in the north-east.
Bill Arnold
Scrub-Jay Intelligence – Proving Being “Bird-Brained” is a Compliment (Maxfield Weakle)
I like Northern Mockingbirds, but they are not particularly smart for birds. The males are recklessly, maniacally territorial, examples of toxic masculinity in the bird world. Chatterboxes and decent mimics, which some humans like.
Nest predation by birds is a thing, sadly.
ALurkSupreme
“Marionhammer” sounds like it could actually be the name of a bird. The state bird of neighboring Alabama is the yellowhammer.
The Lodger
Scrub jays are all over Oregon as well, and I do mean all over. If they’re threatened in Florida, I’d be glad to loan you a few hundred.
Jerry
Re: official state birds. Michigan’s state bird is, for some dumb reason, the American robin. There is a bird that is found mostly only in Michigan that *should* be the new state bird, the Kirtland’s warbler.
Parfigliano
It takes a special kind of fucked up to attribute welfare mentality to a bird. Guess Im a “groomer” cause I maintain two bird feeders and a birdbath.
Hope she/it doesnt have a dog or cat cause I dont see them getting feed or watered.
West of the Cascades
Betty, have you ever considered moving to a relatively more civilized state … like Mississippi?
West of the Cascades
@ALurkSupreme: The hollow Marionyammer.
Soprano2
“This American Life” did a segment about this on a program that was about bird stuff. Weird, weird obsession she has. They concluded that the fight wasn’t actually about the scrub jay, it was about other things, as seen by characterizing a bird as getting welfare.
Parfigliano
Never seen a picture of the FL State Capitol Building before.
Explains alot.
Andrew Abshier
The other Florida politician who beat Marion Hammer was Andrew Gillum, when he was mayor of Tallahassee. That was one of the things he ran on, plus pointing out how R’s kotowed to Hammer all the time.
Marian makes the late Madalyn Murray O’Hair look positively cuddly.
Betty Cracker
@Bill Arnold: The scrub jays in Florida cooperatively hunt, which is rare in passerines, according to this article. Regarding nest predation, I wonder if it ever occurred to Hammer, who launched the NRA’s “Eddie Eagle” program for kids, that eagles are notorious for it? Nah, of course not.
patrick II
@WaterGirl:
A Scrub Jay once was feeding from my hand when he squawked “Free the Proletariat!” So ungrateful.
J.
Rooting for the Florida Scrub Jay… to peck Hammer’s eyes out.
Betty Cracker
@J.: 😂
Mike in NC
In honor of Ron DeSatan they should make the official Florida state bird the “Southern Shitbird”.
Seriously, what piece of garbage will replace him as governor in a couple of years? No doubt the competition is fierce.
EarthWindFire
Conservatives are so freaking weird. There’s just nothing else to say.
Betty Cracker
@Mike in NC: The lieutenant governor is a woman, so it probably won’t be her. Maybe Matt Gaetz?
Nicole
So Mockingbirds are found in Central America and the Caribbean, too, huh? Seems strange this odd duck of a person wants her state represented by a bird that blithely ignores the nation’s borders.
I remember that PA’s state bird is the ruffed grouse (we had to learn that in school); you could threaten me with a hammer and I still couldn’t tell you what my current home, NY’s, state bird is.
A Ghost to Most
The Florida Scrub Jay may be found only in Florida, but it appears to look identical to the scrub jays here in Colorado. Is it obnoxious enough that even blue jays avoid it?
Redshift
@patrick II: And they don’t start their own businesses and pull themselves up by their bootstraps, QED!
Shoehorning bird species into a racist worldview is really next level…
Benw
Hammer hammers Scrub, scrubs Scrub Jay campaign
Matt McIrvin
Was the Florida State Capitol openly modeled after the national capitol in Brasilia? Looks like a very similar basic idea.
Anonymous At Work
I wonder if her problem is that she wants to be able to shoot the jays if they annoy her, but couldn’t if they are the state bird. I have no clue about Florida hunting laws, but since “Stand Your Ground” became law, I suspect that hunting permits are superfluous.
Tom Levenson
In this as in so much else, the Hub of Universe is ahead of the game.
Our state bird:
“A minuscule, cheerfully sociable bird, the energetic black-capped chickadee does not migrate – so we can enjoy them all year long!”
Our state game bird:
The wild turkey.
Damn straight.
Matt McIrvin
@The Moar You Know: The idea that an endangered species is ipso facto a contemptible one because it relies for survival on public largesse is an interesting look into the teeming ugliness of the conservative mind.
Matt McIrvin
@Nicole: MA’s is the adorable black-capped chickadee, which has been featured here recently.
Would have thought it was the wild turkey, but that is the state game bird. Yes, we have two!
trollhattan
Lead poisoning would explain it so I’m going with lead poisoning. Plus, she’s a bee-yuch.
delphinium
@Nicole: It is the Eastern Bluebird.
J Byrd
This sort of begs the question – how much of our politics is personal? Not, like, “I have this ideology and here’s a policy that stems from that”. But “random lady hates bird” so basic shit doesn’t get to change. Like maybe Nancy Pelosi is all for Medicare for all, but doesn’t personally LIKE Bernie Sanders so it’s a no – go. We can BIG THINK on things all day, but Bernie made a passive – aggressive comment about Nancy’s taste in Pinot in 1994, so we don’t get student debt relief.
gvg
Scrub jays need protected habitat. They are anti development. I am pretty sure anyone who wants influence in the Florida republican party has to avoid any opinions that might lead to not building anything everywhere.
Mind you, the habitat these birds need is almost gone and is pretty specific so it would not put that much land off limits but these idiots probably don’t know that. It’s also IMO not particularly good land for people houses, but again most people including developers wouldn’t know that until they got the water bills….
sab
@Mustang Bobby: Yeah. Mockingbirds can really be assholes. Scrub jays can be also because they are jays, but nothing like mockingbirds.
My husband gets annoyed everytime we watch To Kill A Mockimgbird when I roll my eyes when Atticus gives his little talk about the sanctity of mockingbirds. And to Betty’s point, they were in Mississippi several states away from Florida.
sab
@Nicole: Eastern Bluebird.
Nicole
@delphinium @sab: Oh! The Eastern Bluebird is pretty; that doesn’t suck!
Nicole
@Matt McIrvin: I love black capped chickadees; they’re one of the best parts of wintertime, which is when I see them most often.
Shana
Reminds me of 7th grade Science class. Illinois’ state tree is the oak and there was a move to further refine it to a specific kind of oak. As I recall, students were encouraged to vote on which kind of oak we thought it should be. My curmudgeonly science teacher organized us all to vote for the scrub oak which was a pretty unattractive oak as oaks go, and had a funny name to boot. Lost of course. Fun times though.
Cephalus Max
@The Moar You Know: Exactly the right question! WTF.
Based on that photo (what wonderful coloration!), how could you not want that as your state bird?
(I also have an unlikely history of having birds land on me — including on my head — and always found the experience delightful.)
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Mustang Bobby: The mockingbirds near my mom’s house would dive bomb dog walkers, joggers and neighborhood cats (the cats I understand, it’s bad to let cats roam free) they are kinda scary. As for whether Scrub Jays or any jays eat eggs or nestlings, who cares? I know the squirrels and probably the crows in my neighborhood do both. I eat eggs and chickens/turkeys/etc who am I to judge their diet.
Betty
Wizened wedding tackle- classic!
Kelly
One of our Steller’s jays loves to tease our cats thru the patio door. Can’t tell them apart but I think he’s the one that imitates a red tailed hawk’s call to mess with the squirrels.
WaterGirl
@patrick II: haha!
WaterGirl
@J Byrd: Day drinking? Our of your mind? Or trying to be funny?
J R in WV
@Kelly:
That’s so… so devilishly smart, I love it,
Jess
@kindness: Two kinds of jays: scrub jays and steller jays.
Scrub jays are awesome. My grandfather and I used to tame them and they would sit on our knees (or my grandfather’s bald head) even when we weren’t feeding them. Their intelligence and curiosity makes them eager to interact. I wish they had them on the east coast (where I live now) as well as in California (where I grew up).
scav
@Kelly: GSD I love Stellers.
Jess
@West of the Cascades: But then she couldn’t regale us with these charming tales of the escapades of floriduh man/woman!
cope
I taught at Sanford Seminole High School (there’s another Seminole High School in the Tampa area) for 19 years and was friends with and co-taught environmental science Kris Cole, the AP Environmental Science teacher who has been pushing for this for years. I’m glad to see that they are finally getting some traction. Here’s a link to another article about it that is not behind the paywall.
https://localtoday.news/fl/students-at-seminole-high-are-trying-to-make-floridas-endangered-bush-jay-the-official-state-bird-the-orlando-sentinel-170122.html
Matt McIrvin
@Nicole: The black-capped chickadee is also the state bird of Maine. And several states designated the wild turkey their state game bird, which only makes sense, though it means neither of MA’s birds is unique.
I recall Virginia’s state bird is the cardinal, but that’s the state bird of something like 6 states.
Matt McIrvin
Given how common turkeys are around here, it’s amazing to think that it was once a threatened species in the US and was only reintroduced to most of the country through active conservation efforts.
Looking this up, I found some libertarian screed sarcastically asking why turkeys weren’t endangered (and giving some answer about the magic of the free market) that seemed completely oblivious to this.
Ex Lurker
I think Ms. Hammer is an idiot, but I have to admit that scrub jays are nest predators. Chickadees have nested in a cavity in the wall of the house next to ours, which is only about 20 feet away, for years. A couple of years ago I glanced out the window and saw a newly hatched Chickadee sitting on our fence. Just when I was calling my wife over to see it, there was a flash of blue and a scrub jay flew off with the hatchling in its beak. (This was a California scrub jay, not Florida, but there’s little difference.) Like most corvids (crows and jays), they’ll eat anything they can catch and they’re smart enough to catch a lot of stuff. But that’s what every predator does–catch whatever it can, whenever it can.
prostratedragon
@Shana: Your teacher had a point; the scrub oak is not unique to Illinois, but it’s one of the few large trees that’s chracteristic of the Prairie State. Maybe if it’s alternative name bur oak had been used the campaign would have succeeded.
NotMax
Five dozens comments and no one suggested it ought to be the pale-bellied snowbird?
Ruckus
@The Moar You Know:
what the actual fuck is wrong with this person?
Sounds like everyfuckingthing.
Raven
Go Dawgs!!
S Cerevisiae
It seems likely that the Florida subspecies of scrub jay was once part of the larger population and are a remnant that found suitable habitat.
Kabecoo
Washington State addressed this common dispute – which had divided the legislature for years – by naming the orca its marine mammal and recognizing the Olympic marmot as its endemic state mammal a few years later. Folks had to compromise a bit.
Tokyokie
The state bird of Oklahoma is the scissor-tailed flycatcher, which strikes me as a good choice. The bird’s range is relatively small — it can be found throughout Oklahoma and Texas and in parts of bordering states — but it’s a beautiful bird with a long, bifurcated tail. And it eats bugs. What’s not to like? Oklahoma seems quite proud of the critter, and it now adorns car license tags and was the choice for the “tails” side of the commemorative quarters from a few years ago. At any rate, it gets a lot more publicity than the eastern collared lizard, or as it’s popularly known in Oklahoma, the mountain boomer, the state’s official reptile.