Osprey Nation 2025 Report: New Data Showing a Small but Concerning Drop in Connecticut’s Osprey Population Validate Need for Fish Prey Study

The health of the Osprey population serves as a crucial bioindicator of the health and abundance of local fish populations. Photo by Scott Kruitbosch.

 Click here for a PDF of the 2025 Osprey Nation Report!

December 4, 2025 — New data from the Connecticut Audubon Society’s Osprey Nation program show the lowest number of young birds per nest in the program’s 12-year history, a small but worrying dip in the population that underscores the need for a study of Osprey food and feeding habits in the state.

The 2025 Osprey Nation Report, released today, shows that the number of young birds fledged per nest fell to 1.26, a decline attributed in part to increased nest failures and to scattered reports of starvation.

This drop, though still above the minimum threshold to sustain the population, serves as an immediate warning signal when viewed alongside catastrophic 80 percent nest failures in the high-salinity areas of Chesapeake Bay and smaller losses in New Jersey.

Given that the decreases in both areas are strongly linked to a scarcity of the Osprey’s main food source, Atlantic menhaden, the report validates the need for the prey study, announced in November’s Connecticut State of the Birds report.

Ospreys eat only fish, and the health of the population serves as a crucial bioindicator of the health and abundance of local fish populations—or of underlying, often hidden, problems in Long Island Sound. The new study aims to fill a major data gap.

As filmmaker Jacob Steinberg, director of Season of the Osprey, wrote in the Connecticut State of the Birds report: “… outside of the Chesapeake, we have surprisingly little data on what Ospreys actually eat… A clearer picture of Osprey diets within specific regions could strengthen their role as bioindicators, allowing us to track the health of forage fish populations before ecological stress cascades into crisis.”

To determine if this food scarcity problem besetting the Chesapeake’s Ospreys has reached Long Island Sound, Connecticut Audubon will establish a baseline database of the fish species that Connecticut’s Ospreys depend on, including size and abundance.

The study will involve mounting cameras on nests near salt water, brackish water, and fresh water, and then analysing the photos. That will allow conservation biologists to track the number and kind of forage fish. Volunteers from the Osprey Nation program will also be recruited to participate.

Data and Causes
Today’s Osprey Nation report shows that Ospreys in the state continue to do relatively well, with 862 young birds having fledged—the fifth consecutive year the state has surpassed 800 fledglings. However, the drop to 1.26 fledglings per nest is enough to prompt serious concern in light of losses elsewhere along the Atlantic coast.

Chesapeake Bay, which is four times larger than Long Island Sound, harbors the biggest concentration of Osprey in the world. The recent drop-off there has been linked to a scarcity of Atlantic menhaden, a fish of coastal waters that is both the Osprey’s most important food source and a target for industrial commercial harvests.

As stated in the Osprey Nation report, “The staggering Chesapeake Bay losses continue to be worrisome, and the situation in New Jersey increases our uneasiness. There’s no reason to think that the lower 2025 numbers in Connecticut indicate that the problem will move further north. But there’s no reason to be complacent either.”

Factors Behind the Decline
Based on an analysis of data collected by the 399 Connecticut residents who volunteered for Osprey Nation this year, the drop in the 2025 productivity rate was the result of a combination of factors:

• Food Scarcity and Starvation: This was noted as the most common cause of nest failure, with an increase in one-chick broods perceived as a sign of food stress.
• Severe Weather: Events such as a heat wave in June during the peak hatching period and a severe July thunderstorm caused numerous direct losses.
• Low-Quality Nesting Sites: As the Osprey population nears carrying capacity (with 682 active nests in 2025), young birds are increasingly using unsuitable, low-quality sites—including heavy machinery, coastal buoys, boats, docks, rocks in waterways, and electrical lines—which consistently result in lower success rates.
• Human Interference and Predation: The population continues to suffer from intentional nest removals, disruptions from fishing and boating, and increased predation by other animals, often at less secure locations.

The 2026 Osprey study remains only partially funded. To learn how to contribute and help launch the study, contact Melissa Gallaher-Smith, Connecticut Audubon’s Director of Development. Email: mgallaher-smith@ctaudubon.org

The core strength of Osprey Nation is its dedicated volunteer stewards. The program however would benefit from additional volunteers to replace those who have discontinued their involvement, to handle the physical demands of monitoring hard-to-reach nests, and to reduce the workload on experienced stewards.

The Osprey Nation 2025 report was written by Scott Kruitbosch, the Osprey Nation coordinator for 2025. To learn more about volunteering for Osprey Nation, email: osprey@ctaudubon.org.