Osprey chicks are dying in their nests

A new report shows that osprey are declining again on Virginia’s eastern shore. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), which are on every continent but Antarctica, were once on the brink of extinction due to the insecticide DDT. After DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, the species rebounded. However, it is on the decline once again in the Chesapeake Bay—this time, most likely because of a decrease in their prey, said Bryan Watts, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at The College of William and Mary in Virginia. In a new report published by the Center for Conservation Biology, osprey nesting pairs have declined nearly 90% from 1987 to 2025. Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), the bird’s primary food in the region, are fished commercially and used for fish oil, fish meal, agricultural food and bait. “The osprey are yelling pretty loudly that, hey, there’s not enough menhaden for us to reproduce successfully,” Watts told the Associated Press. Commercial fishing companies deny that their activity is the cause of the osprey decline, although they acknowledge that fewer menhaden are showing up in their nets in certain parts of Chesapeake Bay. Other animals, like certain predator fishes and marine mammals, also rely on menhaden stocks for survival.

Read more at the Associated Press.