Wetlands Habitat: Bogs

A bog is an area of moist, soggy ground, usually with peat formed by the decay and carbonization of mosses and other vegetation in the bog. The process of bog formation is continuous, with new crops of reeds and mosses growing over the debris of earlier generations. Thus the surface of a bog is gradually elevated and if the bog becomes oversaturated with water, it may burst, deluging nearby fields with mud. Bogs have been developed by glacial ice blocks which have melted over thousands of years. Stunted evergreens, shrubs and other plants have grown in bogs due to the extremely acidic soils. The floor of bogs is normally covered with a thick carpet of sphagnum moss.

Bogs are also formed when a pond or lake begins to dwindle due to the growth of nearby forests and other wetland plants such as the sphagnum moss and peat (the decayed remains of sphagnum moss and other decomposition of plant material). The plants creep further toward the center forming a mat over the remaining water and eventually the pond becomes a small hole of open water at the bog's center and that small hole of water will also disappear.

In some wooded bogs, the soil is so spongy and wet that a person must keep moving to avoid sinking. Some nature preserve areas have built walkways to protect the surface of the bog to allow the visitor to get close to some of the plants and wildlife found in bogs.

Most bogs occur in New England and across the Great Lakes states and then sporadically down the Appalachians into the Gulf Coast states.

To learn more about bogs, visit The Bog Home Page where you can find many links to web sites that offer information on plant life, wildlife and even how to construct a bog.

Birds of Bogs
(Not all birds are listed)

Birds	Breeding/Nest Facts
Bufflehead	Breeds in and around wooded bogs.
Common Goldeneye	Breeds in and around wooded bogs.
Connecticut Warbler	Breeds in damp Black Spruce and Tamarak bogs. Nest is in a concealed small hollow moss mound in grasses or at the base of a shrub.
Golden-crowned Kinglet	Breeds around wooded bogs of spruce trees. Nest suspended from stems or twig forks.
Lincoln's Sparrow	Breeds in and around borders of bogs. Nest on ground concealed by plant growth on drier raised mounds.
Nashville Warbler	Breeds in boggy forest edges. Nest on ground in hollow moss mound and concealed by shrubs, weeds and grasses.
Northern Waterthrush	Breeds in and around wooded bog edges. Nest is in a cavity of fallen tree base among the roots.
Olive-sided Flycatcher	Breeds in wooded bog areas.
Palm Warbler	Buries its grass nest down in the wet sphagnum moss at the bog's edges.
Red-breasted Nuthatch	Breeds in and around coniferous wooded bog areas.
Winter Wren	Breeds in moist spruce bog areas. Nest is a cavity often found on side of a tree or upturned tree root.
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher	Builds nest beneath the concealing roots of a spruce tree and sunk into a layer of moss which is concealed by the moss and other plant life.