CIRCULAR NO. 520 MARCH 1939 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

 WASHINGTON, D. C. 



WILDLIFE OF THE ATLANTIC COAST SALT MARSHES 



By W. L. McAtee, technical adviser and research specialist, Office of the Chief, 

 Bureau of Biological Survey 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Introduction 



The salt marshes 



Zones of salt-marsh plants 



Plants of the zones and their value to wildlife. 



Eelgrass 



Manateegrags and turtlegrass 



Wigeongrass 



Cordgrass 



Black grass 



Bulrushes 



Alarsh hay 



Glasswort 



Reed 



Other vegetation 



Birds: More characteristic species 



Rails : 



Sparrows 



Ducks 



Bittern 



Willet . 



Marsh hawk 



Page 

 Birds: More characteristic species— Cont'd. 



Short-eared owl 10 



Red-winged blackbird 10 



Meadowlark 11 



Marsh wren 12 



Birds: Less characteristic species 12 



Herons and egrets 12 



Gulls, terns, and skimmers 14 



Waterfowl 17 



Shore birds 18 



Hawks and eagles 21 



Vultures 22 



Crows 22 



Kingfisher 23 



Grackles 23 



Cormorants, pelicans, and ibises 24 



Warblers and swallows 25 



Other wildlife 25 



Reptiles 26 



Fishes 27 



Mammals 27 



INTRODUCTION 



Many salt marshes of the Atlantic coast are now undergoing inten- 

 sified ditching in furtherance of mosquito control. Possible effects 

 of these operations on wildlife are a matter of great concern to nat- 

 uralists, who urge that so far as possible the work be carried on in 

 harmony with the highest conservation ideals. 



Conservation means different things to different people, Some 

 think of protecting only things that can be used, and here again there 

 is more than one school of thought — or at least, of action : One pro- 

 tects only to the date of use and takes what it wishes without plan- 

 ning for replacement — this has been compared to mining; the other 

 strives for replacement, so that there can be sustained use — this has 

 been compared to crop production. There is also protection for 

 beneficial economic tendencies, without direct use— this principle 

 underlying the protection of insectivorous birds. Finally there is 

 conservation for its own sake, the goal of the nature lover. 



Whatever his particular interest in wildlife may be, the nature 

 lover is one who, consciously or not, is impressed with the fellowship 

 of all living things, a fellowship that is very real. He sees that in 

 structure, in habits, and in impulses, his wild neighbors often seem 

 much like himself. Either they are very human or he is very much 

 like them ; they are indeed blood relatives. 



111331°— 39 1 



