We recently finished the last round of Saltmarsh bird surveys at 14 randomly selected marshes on Martha’s Vineyard and Chappaquiddick. We conducted 3 surveys during the breeding season at each site in 2011 and 2012 to contribute data to an Atlantic Coast effort (http://www.tidalmarshbirds.org/)
With sea levels rising, saltmarsh habitat is vulnerable in many areas along the Atlantic Coast. These surveys are providing baseline data about the abundance and distribution of several bird species that rely on saltmarshes for nesting habitat. I was happy to see nesting saltmarsh sparrows at every site we surveyed this year!
