Breeding Birds of North Dakota
Swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana (Latham))
Breeding Range. (Fig. 181). The sparse, extremely local breeding populations occur in a few localities within the northern portion of the Agassiz Lake Plain Region, in the Turtle Mountains, on the Northeastern Drift Plain, on the Southern Drift Plain, and in the southern half of the Missouri Coteau. The largest local populations apparently occur in Kidder County, chiefly in townships T142N-R70W and T140N-R71W.
Breeding Habitat. Breeding populations appear to be restricted to fens (alkaline bogs), particularly those that contain stands of common cattail or phragmites and scattered shrubs including hoary willow, red-osier dogwood, swamp birch, and other species that are characteristic of waterlogged quagmires.
Nesting. In Kidder County, territorial males have been recorded as early as May 19 [1970], and on August 8 [1973], a pair of excited, scolding adults including one with a beakful of insects was recorded (RES). On August 19 [1920], an immature male was collected at the Narrows of Devils Lake (Wood 1923).
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