Maine’s sparrows are being wiped out by mercury and climate change

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 22, 2021

Pollution and sea-level rise are putting Maine’s most unique birds in jeopardy. Tidal marsh songbird offspring are less likely to survive long enough to leave the nest when the mother bird has high levels of mercury in its blood, according to  new research from the University of Maine. Even so, the birds, which have already seen extreme declines over the past two decades, are more sensitive to sea level rise.