Finding Needles in a Haystack
Searching for and monitoring saltmarsh sparrow nests in Jacob’s Point, Bristol, RI. Left to Right: Frieda Milner (SSRI Intern); Deirdre Robinson (SSRI); Jim O’Neill (SSRI); Cooper White (NBEP intern); Courtney Schmidt (NBEP). Photo credit: Jason Jaacks (URI)
This summer, NBEP supported two interns working with the Saltmarsh Sparrow Research Initiative (SSRI) to identify and monitor saltmarsh sparrow nests. The interns, Cooper White and Joel Erckerson, helped identify nests at highest risk for flooding placed them into Nest Arks that allowed the nests to float by rising and falling with the tides. They also assisted with mist-netting adult sparrows and banding nestlings before they fledged. The nestlings will be banded by the end of the summer to track their (hopeful) return to the marsh next spring.
In July, Courtney watched the sunrise with SSRI and intern Cooper White (Barrington, RI native and University of New Hampshire student) looking for sparrow nests at Jacob’s Point Marsh, owned by the Warren Land Conservation Trust. She wandered the marsh with Cooper learning about the project, and how to spot nests (she was unsuccessful!). Nests are GPS tagged and flagged in the field for easy monitoring.
Nests are needles in haystacks!
Buried in the marsh grass is a nest. Be careful where you tread; they are well hidden!
They are the cutest little birds!
These nestlings will be banded to track their (hopeful) return to the marsh next spring.
Saltmarsh sparrows lay 2-3 clutches of eggs per season with 3-5 eggs per nest. They lay their eggs and fledge the nestlings within the 28-day tidal cycle. The first clutch usually fails because the sparrows aren’t tuned to the tidal cycle of their nesting habitat yet. By the second clutch, they have the timing. This 28-day cycle is very short for nesting birds, and is likely only possible due the abundance of food in and around the saltmarshes. These sparrows are found from
Saltmarsh sparrows are unique – not just for their reproductive timeline. They are one of the few species that we know are becoming extinct due to climate change (ICUN listed as endangered in 2017). They have a very narrow range along the east coast; they breed between Maine to Rhode Island, live year-round between Connecticut to Virginia, and winter as far south as Florida. Their habitat has been fragmented by development and now is drowning with rising seas. As marshes are covered with more water, the probability of the eggs hatching and chicks fledging decreases.
All is not lost. SSRI is developing Nest Arks, a floating nest platform to support the nests. The platforms are supported by a dowel in a PVC pipe which is placed into the marsh sediment. The nests have flotation on the bottom which allows them to float up when the marsh is flooded and return to baseline when the water recedes. SSRI hopes that these nests will strike the necessary balance between flood prevention and keeping the nests well hidden and away from predators.
Nest Arks in the wild!
The sparrow nests are placed on the platform, which floats with flood waters.
Written by Courtney Schmidt, Staff Scientist, Narragansett Bay Estuary Program
Photo Credits:
Photo credits for the saltmarsh sparrow egg, nests, nestlings, and Nest Arks: Courtney Schmidt (NBEP)
All photos available for download on NBEP’s flickr.