Although it supports much less salt marsh than the NH coast, these marshes are home to most of the state's population of Nalson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow, here at the southern edge of it's global range. We believe all creatures great and small deserve love. It is also an important wintering area for Bald Eagles and a breeding area for Osprey. Over 80% of all waterfowl that winter in NH coastal areas are found in Great Bay. The Great Bay estuary and adjacent habitats provide a major wintering and migration stopover for 20 species of waterfowl, 27 species of shorebirds, and 13 species of wading birds. (From Peter Wellenberger, Reserve Director, Personal Communication). Great Bay is a nationally recognized - and managed - estuarine site that has been set aside for long-term research and monitoring. Only a licensed wildlife rehabilitator has the special equipment and skills to provide the injured bird with proper care. In the future, the Reserve may be able to assist in providing data for you under SWMP II. Specifically, they will include the need for more information about the marsh wren, saltmarsh sparrow and Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow. They will add to the monitoring section support for the goals of IBA. Reserve staff are in the process of preparing a new management plan to the feds (NOAA). NH Audubon has run the wintering eagle monitoring program that the Reserve supports. The Reserve has managed a wintering waterfowl monitoring program for the past ten years. Fish and Game has historically data on waterfowl going back some fifty years. However, the next phase - SWMP II - is on biologically monitoring (flora and fauna). The focus of this has been on weather, nutrients, and water quality. Great is one of 25 Reserves around the country with a System Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP). The prime mission of the Reserve is to conduct long-term research and monitoring. Great Bay was designated a National Estuarine Research Reserve site in 1989. The estuary is bordered by an array of protected lands including the 1,100-acre Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge and a network of lands protected by the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership and by local communities (Ecological Assessment of Selected Towns in the Great Bay Area, 1997, NH Natural Heritage Program). It is comprised of a mosaic of high quality, highly productive salt marshes, tidal rivers, eelgrass beds, mudflats, and open water where 5 major rivers meet the sea. Great Bay contains 17 square miles of estuarine waters and more than 100 miles of shoreline and is located more than 5 miles from NH?s seacoast. Great Bay is New Hampshire?s largest and most complex estuary.

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