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Saltmarsh Sparrow survey efforts. Mo Correll

Saltmarsh Sparrow Surveys 

Last summer, partners completed the second year of the 10-year resurvey effort for tidal marsh birds in coastal marshes from Maine to Virginia. Surveys occurred in all 10 states, where technicians revisited survey points originally visited in 2011 – 2014. This is part of an effort to update population and trend estimates for the Saltmarsh Sparrow and other tidal marsh obligate birds to help evaluate the conservation status of these species. State, federal, and non-profit organizations provided support for the effort, which was coordinated through the Saltmarsh Habitat and Avian Research Program (SHARP). Analysis of these data is now underway by partners at the University of Connecticut.

Saltmarsh Sparrow Modeling Effort 

As restoration efforts continue to be implemented on the ground it is important to better understand the local distribution of Saltmarsh Sparrows on the landscape. To address this need the ACJV worked with SHARP researchers at the University of Delaware to predict probability of occupancy and density for Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows from coastal Maine to Virginia. The final product is a continuous spatial layer at a resolution of 200m pixels identifying concentrations of both species within tidal marshes which can inform local management and restoration efforts. The work was supported through funds from Coastal Programs and Migratory Birds. The final report and associated data layers are available here: Saltmarsh Sparrow Occupancy and Saltmarsh Sparrow Density.

Restoration Document and Tool

Last year, the ACJV began an effort to identify marshes in each state that are in need of restoration action to benefit the Saltmarsh Sparrow. This effort led to a set of state guidance documents that summarize priority marshes and management recommendations for each state. The documents were produced by a series of state-based working groups of partners. Following completion of the documents, we  used the information to build a spatial mapper that displays the marsh priorities and allows users to filter them by recommended management actions. This allows partners and funders to more easily match restoration priorities with funding opportunities and partner interest. Saltmarsh Sparrow detection information from the 2011-2014 surveys is also available in the mapper. We plan to update to both the static documents and spatial mapper in the first half of 2023.

Check Out Our New Saltmarsh Sparrow Webpage!

In an effort to better provide the abundance of Saltmarsh Sparrow information to our partners, we have remodeled our Saltmarsh Sparrow webpage. You can now easily connect to our restoration priorities mapper and state management guidance documents, read the conservation plan, familiarize yourself with priority management techniques, read articles on Saltmarsh Sparrow and more through a user-friendly interface. Make sure to check it out!