Picture Of The Week 03-22-10

Where: Chincoteague, VA • Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Notes: Appropriately named, the seaside sparrow is a salt marsh specialist, it inhabits a variety of coastal marshes that are dominated by grasses and low brush along the Mid-Atlantic seaboard. This bird was spotted along the marsh near the bridge that crosses Chincoteague Channel by my partner. Populations of this species are in significant decline. Today, rising sea levels, due to climate change are submerging these lands, eroding beaches, and converting wetlands to open water. Sealevel rise will have profound effects by increasing coastal flooding frequency and severity. Coastal landmasses, such as barrier islands and wetlands, may have thresholds from sealevel rise and storm surges that lead to rapid and irreversible change. Loss of tidal marshes will adversely effect many bird species, including this one, in both the marshes themselves and the adjacent estuaries. Many of these creatures and habitats are being protected and studied, but some impact in these areas is already unavoidable.