By Don Riepe, NYC Bird Alliance Advisory Council Member and Former Board Member | August 27, 2026
The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), a magnificent fish-eating raptor with a wingspan of up to five feet, has made one of the most remarkable wildlife comebacks in New York City – but its future is still uncertain. Once a common sight along the City’s coastal marshes, bays, and estuaries, Osprey populations declined dramatically during the 20th century due to habitat loss, human disturbance, and widespread use of the pesticide DDT, which caused eggshells to become so thin that many broke before hatching. By the early 1970s, breeding Ospreys had virtually disappeared from New York Harbor and much of the surrounding region. Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring highlighted the issue and in 1972, DDT was banned from use in the U.S.
In the 1980s, Osprey populations started to rebound. As a ranger at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, I worked with NYC Sierra Club volunteers and National Park Service ranger staff to put up several nesting platforms in Jamaica Bay. In 1990, we documented the first nesting Osprey in New York City for nearly 20 years.
Today, there are 25 active Osprey nests in the greater Jamaica Bay area, and Osprey populations have fully recovered thanks to conservation action and government protections. But despite this success, wildlife conservation is an ongoing challenge, as raptors face new threats.
For more than three decades, NYC Department of Environmental Protection biologist Chris Nadareski and I have banded and checked the health of young Ospreys in Jamaica Bay. Fledgling survival the past two years has been dismal. This year, 20 of 25 Osprey nests surveyed were empty, making it the worst year for productivity in 36 years. Many suspect the cause is overfishing of Menhaden, Ospreys’ most important food source. Numerous studies show that the nesting success of Atlantic Coast Ospreys is closely tied to Menhaden populations, and there are active calls to reduce overfishing of Menhaden along the entire coast. NYC Bird Alliance is a member of the new Menhaden Coalition, which is currently advocating for protection of these fish and coordinating Osprey and fish-related data across state lines.
