Seaside Sparrow

On an early Saturday morning, my wife and I drove to the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Mississippi to participate as volunteers in helping researchers capture and study the seaside sparrow. Ammodramus maritimus.

Beaching the boats

The site was reached on small flat bottomed boats. the shallow profile may help these types of boats get through shallow areas, but they are not great at riding through rough seas. Waves consistently splashed over the sides of the boat getting the people who rode in the front very wet. 

After the boats were firmly secured from floating away or being swamped by the waves, we unloaded the mist nets.  Seaside sparrows were everywhere. They were flying around and perching on the marsh vegetation. I admit, I was not expecting to see so many of these birds. While these birds were numerous, other birds seen only include willets, brown pelicans, and a clapper rail.

Seaside Sparrow

Seaside sparrows spend their time during the breeding season in salt marshes building nest in the grasses and raising young. They have large bills and yellow spot in front of their eyes.

On that day specifically, the team was looking for  to recapture some marked sparrows attached with  geolocator to see how far individual sparrows may move during the winter.  The geolocators record  daylight versus dark which can then be used to determine the relative location on the Earth for the individual birds.  Birds were also inspected for their bands as a way to keep an eye out on specific birds.

It was a great Saturday! I want to thank Grand Bay NERR and the researchers from other institutions working together for a knowledgeable and fun morning.

Below is short video describing more about whats being done here at Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.