103. 1st Grade SSR: Marsh Birds

Slip, slop! A marsh is a wet place. It has water and lots of mud. It has plants such as grass and reeds. These plants grow in and around the water.

A marsh is a kind of wetland. Wetlands are fine places for birds like this big crane to live.

​

A crane has long legs and a long beak. It sticks its beak into water and mud to get food such as crabs, clams, frogs, and snails. It jabs its beak into grass to snap up mice and snakes. It eats seeds and bits of plants, too.

This kind of crane can be almost as big as a man!

​

Geese like marshes, too. They have wide, flat feet to help them swim. They have sharp beaks that can snip grass to eat. Geese also eat seeds and grains.

Geese feed on dry land as well. They like to eat corn, wheat, and rice grains that are left on farmlands after the crop harvest.

​

What more can you find in marshes? Ducks! Just like geese, ducks have wide, flat feet that help them swim.

Ducks eat many things. They catch fish, frogs, snails, and bugs. Many ducks eat grass, weeds, seeds, grain, and nuts.

​

This bird is called a rail. It has a long bill and short tail. It has long, thin toes that help it walk on wet mud. A rail likes to hide in grasses and reeds. This bird is hard to spot, but don’t forget that you might hear it. Some people think it says “Kid kick, kid kick!” or that it grunts like a pig.

​

This little bird is a marsh wren. The boy bird makes many nests in the marsh plants. The girl bird picks the nest she likes best. Then she adds a carpet with grass and soft fluff from plants. She lays eggs in this nest.

Wrens chirp and trill day and night. When wrens sing, it is like a nice wren concert in the marsh!

​