Wrens and Sparrows Nesting in Salt Marshes

     Red-winged blackbirds, laughing gulls, clapper rails and willets, which are a kind of sandpiper, and other kinds of birds nest in salt marshes along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.  And marsh wrens, seaside sparrows and saltmarsh sparrows also nest in those same marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf shores.  These latter three kinds of small, brown and streaked birds converged with each other in their reedy and grassy habitat.  That habitat made them what they are, but each species' needs are a bit different than those of the other two, which allows these species to live in the same environment with limited competition for space and food.
     The wrens and sparrows blend into their habitat so well they are difficult to see until they move in more open situations.  The songs of the males of each species are more likely to give away their presence.
     Marsh wrens have warm-brown feathering with a prominent white eye-stripe over each eye and small, white streaks on their shoulders.  They live among cattails and rushes in fresh-water marshes, and among tall marsh grasses in salt marshes.  They hide, nest and look for invertebrate food in those environments.
     Male marsh wrens frequently sing one to three loud, musical rattles on different pitches to attract females of their kind to them for mating and raising young.  Each male also builds a few rounded nests of grass they mount on cattail or reed stems in their part of a marsh.  Each potential nursery has an opening on one side.  The mate of each male marsh wren inspects the cradles and chooses one to hatch young.  All that activity of the males makes this species one of the dominant birds of a salt marsh.
     Seaside sparrows live and nest only among the grasses of salt marshes, which is a limited environment in acreage.  This type of sparrow has a brownish-gray face and shoulders, and a yellow mark on each side of the face behind the beak.  Males sing from the tops of grasses and shrubs, which is the only time this species is readily visible.  Their weak songs begin with two buzzy notes followed by a buzzy trill.  This species eats seeds, insects, snails and small crustaceans they find on the ground and along tidal creeks at low tide.
     Female seasides build woven, grass nurseries that they place in grass tussocks above the high tide line.  Each female lays four or five white eggs with brown blotches, which camouflages those eggs.
     Saltmarsh sparrows are handsome birds, with dull-orange stripes on their faces and gray cheeks.  And they have white under parts that are streaked.  But most people don't see them because they are secretive and skulking, as well as camouflaged, among marsh grasses and on the ground.  There they search for invertebrates and seeds to eat.     
     Males of this species sing weak, raspy trills, but do not defend territories or help raise young.  In fact, pair bonds are not formed in this species.  Females of this kind of sparrow build open cup nests of grass stems and blades on the ground, under grasses, above the normal high tide.  Each hen bird lays four to five brown-spotted, pale-blue eggs in her cradle. 
     Interestingly, seaside sparrows prefer the wetter parts of salt marshes to nest, but saltmarsh sparrows would rather raise young in the drier sections of those same marshes.  In that way, these two sparrow species have reduced competition for nesting space and food in the same marshes.
     Marsh wrens, seaside sparrows and saltmarsh sparrows nest in salt marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.  Because of their camouflaged plumages and secretive ways, they are hard to spot.  One must watch for them to experience them.