By Sally Siko

Though they’re not the flashiest of species, I always enjoy seeing Seaside Sparrows whenever I go birding along the coast.
With those long legs, these little guys are perfectly suited for a life hunting for a meal in and along the shallow marsh waters.

In North Carolina, it is found throughout the year in our coastal/tidal marshes, though they do seem to shift their habitat, preferences in the spring and winter months.
Because salt marshes tend have shifting tidal amplitudes, Seaside Sparrows avoid nesting in such sites.
Instead they choose to breed in brackish marshes, both along the coast and at locally around the inner portions of Pamlico Sound and the tidal creeks entering into it.
From fall to spring, birds move into richer salt marshes, though they also winter in brackish marshes as well.

Photographing Seaside Sparrows is moderately difficult task as they usually stay hidden in dense marsh grass.
There it will search for spiders, seeds, marine invertebrates and insects in the dirt and mud and on nearby plants.
I got in a few lucky shots when this one popped up from the reeds to look for a meal on the mudflats.
Isn’t he sweet?

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds