During spring and summer, ospreys love our beaches and waterways for easy access to their favorite fish. But productivity in our region was down significantly this year.
The Connecticut Audubon Society's Osprey Nation monitors more than 400 nests statewide. Data from 2026 show nearly two-thirds produced one chick, and one-third had two. Less than 6% of nests had three.
That is the first time in the program's 13 years that most successful nests raised only one chick.
Matt Joyce is Audubon's conservation science and Coastal Center manager.
"When you have a tertiary predator like an osprey — you know, something that's at the top of the food chain — if they start showing serious signs of struggle, it's a really good indicator. We call them bioindicators — they're a really good indicator that there's something amiss with the food chain," Joyce said.
Joyce said this reflects trends across the East Coast.
"I don't want to say we're not surprised, but we've kind of been keeping our ear to the ground, and been anticipating this," he said. "Overall, it's alarming to say the least. It's a really strong signal now that we're seeing a similar trend in Connecticut and the Long Island Sound."
Audubon released numbers early this year, calling on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to impose stricter restrictions on menhaden fishing.
"Just so that we can give a bit of breathing room to not just osprey, but other predatory species in our waters like striped bass, dolphins, whales — they all rely on their fish, as well."
Long Island's Group for the East End spoke to WSHU in August after similar reports were highlighted by the National Audubon.
Osprey had made a comeback over the last few decades after the U.S. banned the pesticide DDT. It had been linked to calcium deficiency in fish-eating birds, causing their eggs to be too thin to hatch.
Jennifer Skilbred of Long Island's Group for the East End spoke to WSHU in August and said it shows that even when a species is doing well, it is important to stay vigilant.
“Sometimes decisions made at regional, federal, state, and local levels can impact them so quickly," Skilbred said. "So, it’s never a done deal; you always have to keep an eye on it. Changes are always happening, and we have to be paying attention to notice these changes and the impacts they might be having.”
The group conducts triennial surveys of East End osprey. In light of the recent data, Skilbred says they hope to make them annual.
Osprey Nation will release the full report with the Connecticut numbers later this year.
