Swamp Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow has held roughly steady: up 9% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Swamp Sparrow
The Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) is a North American member of the New World Sparrows (Passerellidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the wetland birds.
- Size
- 4.5–7.5 in long (12–19 cm) — a small songbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Marshes, ponds, lakeshores and other freshwater wetlands.
- Diet
- Aquatic invertebrates, small fish, frogs and plant matter.
- Range
- Recorded on 798 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 23 states, most concentrated in the Atlantic Northern Forest.
- Family
- Passerellidae · Wetland birds
Notable Swamp Sparrow Trends
No notable trend signals for Swamp Sparrow. See the full index history below.
Swamp Sparrow Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Swamp Sparrow is projected to fall about 10% by 2029 — from 0.42 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.38 (95% range 0.32–0.45). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±9.5%, with 80% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.38 | 0.31 | 0.44 |
| 2026 | 0.38 | 0.31 | 0.44 |
| 2027 | 0.38 | 0.31 | 0.44 |
| 2028 | 0.38 | 0.31 | 0.44 |
| 2029 | 0.38 | 0.32 | 0.45 |
Where the Swamp Sparrow Is Detected
BBS routes recording Swamp Sparrow, sized by most recent count.
Swamp Sparrow Population Trend by State
| Connecticut | +21% | 1969 | 20 |
| Delaware | +7% | 1968 | 12 |
| Illinois | -39% | 1974 | 21 |
| Indiana | -72% | 1975 | 17 |
| Iowa | -59% | 1974 | 14 |
| Maine | +48% | 1968 | 67 |
| Maryland | +40% | 1969 | 16 |
| Massachusetts | +87% | 1968 | 24 |
| Michigan | +449% | 1968 | 92 |
| Minnesota | +191% | 1969 | 85 |
| Nebraska | +124% | 1980 | 3 |
| New Hampshire | -19% | 1968 | 26 |
| New Jersey | -80% | 1968 | 16 |
| New York | +125% | 1968 | 120 |
| North Dakota | +708% | 1974 | 20 |
| Ohio | +65% | 1968 | 33 |
| Pennsylvania | +57% | 1968 | 71 |
| Rhode Island | -40% | 1970 | 5 |
| South Dakota | +110% | 1971 | 10 |
| Vermont | +28% | 1968 | 24 |
| Virginia | insufficient data | n/a | 4 |
| West Virginia | insufficient data | n/a | 6 |
| Wisconsin | +37% | 1968 | 92 |
Swamp Sparrow Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Prairie Potholes | 13× | 1970 | 62 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | +364% | 1968 | 119 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | +94% | 1968 | 80 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | +9% | 1968 | 141 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | -15% | 1968 | 47 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | +59% | 1968 | 133 |
| Appalachian Mountains | +92% | 1968 | 130 |
| Piedmont | -59% | 1978 | 6 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | +3% | 1968 | 76 |
Swamp Sparrow Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 8% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.