Saltmarsh Sparrow On Salthay

Photo Study Of Birds At E.B. Forsythe NWR (Atlantic County, NJ), July 19th, 2011

Ed Norman and I were able to get to Tuckerton and Brig yesterday.

Species Seen Were:

Canada Goose	Western Sandpiper	American Goldfinch
Mute Swan	Least Sandpiper	Common Yellowthroat
American Black Duck	Semipalmated Sandpiper	Red-winged Blackbird
Mallard	Lesser Yellowlegs	Mourning Dove
Ruddy Duck	Willet	Eastern Kingbird
Double-crested Cormorant	Spotted Sandpiper	American Crow
Great Blue Heron	Killdeer	Purple Martin
Great Egret	Semipalmated Plover	Tree Swallow
Snowy Egret	Gull-billed Tern	Barn Swallow
Black-crowned Night-Heron	Forster's Tern	Marsh Wren
Glossy Ibis	Least Tern	Eastern Bluebird
Turkey Vulture	Common Tern	American Robin
Brown Pelican	Herring Gull	Gray Catbird
Red-tailed Hawk	Laughing Gull	Northern Mockingbird
Osprey	Black Skimmer	European Starling
Peregrine Falcon	Seaside Sparrow	Eastern Meadowlark
Clapper Rail	Saltmarsh Sparrow	Boat-tailed Grackle
Short-billed Dowitcher	Song Sparrow	Brown-headed Cowbird

Here are some of the photos:

Two Views Of A Saltmarsh Sparrow On Salt Hay

Juvenile Saltmarsh Sparrow

    The Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus) is a small sparrow (5.25 inches long with a 7 inch wingspan.) This secretive bird with skulking
   habits and a barely audible song is restricted to the salt marshes of the Atlantic from southern Maine to the upper Gulf coasts. At one time, this
   bird and the Nelson's Sparrow were thought to be a single species, the Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Because of this, the species was briefly known as
   "Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow". Adults have brownish upperparts with grey on the crown and nape, a cream-colored breast with dark streaks
   and a white throat and belly; they have an orange face with grey cheeks and a short pointed tail. The nest is an open cup located above the high
   tide line. Males compete for females but do not defend territories. Only females raise the young. They forage on the ground or in marsh vegetation,
   sometimes probing in mud. They mainly eat insects, aquatic inverterbrates and seeds. (Cornell BNA; Wikipedia; Sibley Guide To Birds)