Current Research Projects
Winter Ecology of Marshbirds in Coastal Mississippi:
The extensive coastal marshes along the Mississippi Gulf Coast are an ideal place to study marsh birds, a group of birds which is very poorly known.. At the Grand Bay NERR, we initiated surveys in November 2003 to determine the abundance, distribution, and habitat use of winter marsh birds. Results of this research indicate that Marsh Wrens (Cistothorus palustris), Nelsons Sharp-tailed Sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni), and Seaside Sparrows (Ammodramus maritimus) are the mostly commonly detected species wintering in Mississippi coastal marshes. Although winter populations of individual species appear to vary significantly from year to year, Marsh Wrens are consistently the most commonly observed species during the winter, followed by the Seaside Sparrow, with the Nelsons Sharp-tailed Sparrow being the least observed species of this group of birds.
