Habitat
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The coastal plain swamp sparrow inhabits tidal marshes of the Middle Atlantic states.
It favors the high marsh, an area dominated by a mix of tall and short grasslike vegetation with a few shrubs intermingled. This strip of marsh sits between the upland and the low marsh, an area of tidal guts, mudflats and extensive grasslike vegetation.
Vegetation
The favored plant community consists of patches of high tide bush (Iva frutescens), small shrubs in the above picture, with an understory of salt hay (Spartina patens), the wavy, grasslike vegetation.
Many other plant species may be intermingled and the tall stems of Phragmites and Spartina cyanosuroides are often used as singing perches by males.
The vegetation can be quite dense but is usually less than 10 feet tall. Tidal guts and brackish ponds are often present.
More about the vegetation in these tidal marshes.
Other Birds
Many other birds occupy the same habitat as the coastal plain swamp sparrow. Here are some of the more common ones.
More about birds found in tidal marshes (range and status).
Yellow Warbler
Red-winged
Blackbird
Common
Yellowthroat
Willow Flycatcher
Gray Catbird
Marsh Wren
