Stratford, CT – Restoration along Connecticut’s coastline is showing exciting progress: Since Audubon Connecticut and its partners broke ground on a major restoration project at Great Meadows Marsh in late 2021, the area has seen notable improvements in habitat conditions for native plants and wildlife.

A driving force behind the restoration at Great Meadows Marsh is protecting the rapidly declining Saltmarsh Sparrow species. Encroaching development, disposal of dredged soils, abundance of non-native plants, and flooding had previously degraded the habitat which Saltmarsh Sparrows need to nest.  

The restoration at Great Meadows Marsh prioritized creating new Saltmarsh Sparrow nesting habitat called “hummocks,” elevated mounds of soil planted with native grasses which would prevent high tides from drowning their nests and chicks.

“Our project partners added the new hummocks while keeping existing habitat intact, so the Saltmarsh Sparrows would ideally return to their nesting grounds but transition to the elevated areas where nests are safer from flooding,” said Franco Gigliotti, a PhD student at the University of Connecticut (UConn) who is leading the Saltmarsh Sparrow research at the marsh.

As part of the ongoing research, UConn team members are banding Saltmarsh Sparrows and deploying radio transmitters on some of the birds to track their movements and nesting behavior, providing valuable information that will guide work at Great Meadows Marsh and future coastal resilience initiatives at other sites.

“Banding and surveying helps us gather data on how the birds are interacting with the restoration site and how they’re using the hummocks,” said Franco. “Since the restoration began, we have been surveying and banding pretty consistently every summer, which gives us information we need to understand the impacts of the restoration and guide future management activities.”

“Our preliminary results suggest sustained use of the restoration area by Saltmarsh Sparrows three years post-restoration, with regular use of the hummocks, likely for foraging purposes or cover. We found evidence of at least one Saltmarsh Sparrow nest on the hummocks thus far, providing us with cautious optimism that the birds will continue to nest there in the future as the habitat improves over time through adaptive management efforts."

Excitingly, other birds on the marsh have started to call the hummocks home. Another native species, Willets, have successfully nested and fledged young from the restored area—even a wild turkey and Least Bittern was seen at the site! Additionally, the Seaside Sparrow has begun colonizing the restored area of Great Meadows Marsh.

Improvements to tidal creeks and the regrading of the site have made the area more accessible to estuarine turtles, blue crabs, Atlantic Silverside and Menhaden fish, among others.  The decrease in mosquitos has also made visiting Great Meadows much more enjoyable!

Working to protect and restore salt marshes isn’t just critical for birds like the Saltmarsh Sparrow, it’s essential for the diverse array of plants, wildlife, and communities that call the coastline home—and for Great Meadows Marsh, the future is looking bright.