Saltmarsh Sparrow stands on marsh wrack. All photographs by the author.

Occupying the space between the land and the sea, salt marshes are the guardians of our coastlines. These dynamic systems are the first line of defense from coastal flooding and continue to be a valuable component of the commercial fishing, tourism, and recreation industries in the United States. But from their edges, coastal salt marshes often appear devoid of life. That is because the daily influx of salt water and open, grassy expanses makes it an exceptionally challenging space for most species to call it home. In fact, there are only 25 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians that live solely in the salt marshes around the world (Greenberg et al. 2006). Found only in coastal marshes along the Atlantic, the Saltmarsh Sparrow is intricately tied to the narrow band of salt marsh for its entire life cycle.