Osprey Nation

Osprey Nation is Connecticut Audubon’s statewide citizen science initiative launched in 2014 to monitor the size and health of the state’s Osprey population.

The program relies on volunteers who make regular observations, from the birds' arrival in March through their departure in September. They document pair formation, mating, incubation, hatching, and fledgling counts, while also keeping track of nest failures, human disturbance, and adult mortality.

Because Ospreys feed almost exclusively on fish, the program serves as an early-warning system for the health of Connecticut's waters and the abundance of prey species like Atlantic menhaden.

In 2025, there were more than 800 fledglings for the fifth straight year but, at 1.26 fledglings per nest, productivity was the lowest since the project started. That's not near the catastrophic nest failures in the Chesapeake Bay, but it's reason for concern. We will be conducting a 2026 study and working with other states to better understand the causes.