Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
*Audubon Red List Species, Watchlist 2007
The Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow is an unobtrusive little bird that can be found in three distinct, geographically separated habitats. One is the mature, undisturbed coastal marshes of the eastern seaboard. They can be found in the Chesapeake Bay region year-round. Their diet depends on insects and small crustaceans found in dense grasses, mudflats, tidal pools, and wrack lines. The Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow is threatened by an acute loss of breeding, migrating, and wintering habitat with the continued destruction of coastal marshes. Conservation of extensive salt marsh is critical to the species' future.