The Osprey Odyssey

Christine Albrecht, Kyle Caccamesi, Cheyenne Fraley, John Sollog

Stockton University
Environmental Issues
Dr. Moscovici
October 20, 2022
Abstract
The Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, is found throughout New Jersey’s coastal areas and is one of the
state's largest raptors. This report specifically focuses on the subspecies of osprey, Pandion haliaetus
carolinensis, and aims to understand where an osprey nest may be implemented to introduce the species
around the Galloway campus with effective use of their habitat needs. The Galloway main campus may
serve as a favorable habitat for an osprey with the proximity to Lake Fred with ample space to ensure
human disturbance is limited; the university’s Marine Field Station in Port Republic, Moss Mill Lake and
neighboring areas are also suitable locations. The Atlantic City campus would not hold a suitable habitat
as it is located on busy city streets and the Atlantic City Boardwalk. The neighboring marshland areas of
the Atlantic City campus district are suitable with its proximity to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean,
Lake Bay and Absecon Bay, and an abundance of open space available. This report includes how an
osprey nest needs to be built to exhibit all habitat requirements, the history of the osprey’s population and
their range.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Research 1

Discussion 4

References 6
 1

Introduction
Known as the fish hawk, the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a raptor that can be found almost
worldwide along salt marshes, lakes, rivers, estuaries, and fresh/saltwater shorelines. With adaptations
such as long legs, sharp-hooked talons, and keen eyesight, the osprey is well suited for fishing. They
quickly dive into the water feet-first using their talons to secure fish (Edwins 1997). Today, the
appearance of ospreys is enjoyed by many. However, this bird was once dangerously close to extinction.
From the 1940s-early 1970s, an insecticide known as Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)
was extensively used to control pests in the agricultural industry. However, this chemical is a hazardous
pollutant to the environment and many species that live within it. The osprey was one of the species
which DDT negatively impacted, nearly going extinct due to weaker egg shells from calcium deficiencies
(Department of Environmental Protection, 2022). In response to growing concerns about DDT, the United
States banned its use in 1972 (Buchheit, 2021). Following the ban, conservation efforts were established
to help repopulate ospreys, allowing them to make an immense recovery since then.
Recently, these conservation efforts have focused on osprey populations near wetlands and
waterways along coastlines. For example, in New Jersey, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation and other
conservation groups concentrate their efforts primarily on osprey nests along the Atlantic Coast and
Delaware Bay (Wurst & Clark, 2022). While there has been extensive research on the conservation and
repopulation of ospreys in coastal settings, little is known about their reproductive success inland. This
report aims to analyze the history of the conservation efforts that New Jersey has implemented to
repopulate ospreys from the DDT era. Additionally, we focus on the osprey’s adaptations including diet,
habitat, reproduction, nesting, range, and migration to better understand this species. With this
knowledge, we can determine if and where an osprey pair would be able to nest inland, specifically on the
Stockton University Galloway campus.
Research
There are four subspecies of osprey including Pandion haliaetus haliaetus, Pandion haliaetus
carolinensis, Pandion haliaetus ridgwayi, and Pandion haliaetus cristatus. This report will focus on
Pandion haliaetus carolinensis which is the subspecies of osprey that breeds in the United States. The
osprey’s plumage is brown on the back and white on the breast. With long legs, foot pads with specialized
barbs, reversible outer toes, and sharp talons, the osprey is well adapted for catching fish. With a large
body and an average wingspan of five feet, these raptors are often mistaken for bald eagles (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus). Ospreys have difficulty maneuvering around tall trees due to their large wingspan, and
require open sites with clear airspace (Edwins, 1997). The eye color of ospreys differ depending on the
stage of development. They range from a dark blue once they hatch, to a reddish-orange a few days after,
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and eventually turn into a bright yellow once they mature. As they soar in the sky above bodies of water,
they rely on their keen eyesight to locate fish.
Ospreys are frequently found near shallow coastal estuaries, marshes, and shorelines with warm
climates. However, they are also present near rivers, lakes, and lagoons. Ospreys gravitate to these bodies
of water as long as they are abundant with fish (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, n.d.). These birds are found
at the top of their food chain and without them present, a potential cascade effect could occur disrupting
the ecosystem and species within it (Bierregaard et al., 2014). Although no longer a possibility, this
cascade effect was once the foreseeable future for many species.
In the 1940s, DDT was introduced in the United States to control pests from agricultural crops
and mosquitoes from spreading diseases such as typhus and malaria (Berry-Caban, 2021). Up until its ban
in the United States in 1972, this synthetic insecticide was publicly used despite how hazardous it was to
the environment and the species within it. Unfortunately, with DDT in the food chain, ospreys and their
young were greatly impacted from this pollutant as it thinned their eggshells and hindered their
reproduction (Bierregaard et al., 2014). DDT pollution reduced the osprey population in New Jersey from
500 nesting pairs to 50, resulting in ospreys being listed as endangered (Clark, 2004). In the 1970s,
conservation efforts were implemented to repopulate the previously abundant ospreys in New Jersey.
These efforts included transferring healthy osprey eggs and chicks from the Chesapeake Bay to New
Jersey to improve population success. Additionally, man-made osprey platforms were built to encourage
nesting and reproduction success. As of 2021, ospreys are thriving in New Jersey with a total of 706
nesting pairs which is the greatest number ever recorded in New Jersey history (Wurst & Clark, 2022).
Ospreys are indiscriminate fishers, meaning they will eat almost any fish that's about 6-20 inches
long (Sakakibara et al., 2020). They mainly fish in shallow waters within about 12 miles of their nests. On
rare occasions when fish are scarce, they have been seen eating reptiles and small mammals (Cornell Lab
of Ornithology, n.d.).
The osprey has no true natural predators in its adult form. Bald eagles will attack ospreys and
their nest habitat over territory disputes, but will not engage them as a food source. However, other
animals and birds like raccoons or crows will attack their eggs and young, both as a food source and for
territorial disputes. Generally, ospreys do not suffer widespread predation by other birds and mammals
and remain an apex predator in the regions it inhabits (Ames and Mersereau, 1964).
Figure 1 shows the range of ospreys in North America. They can be seen throughout the year in
the north-west section of California, the south-west section of Oregon, Florida and some of the
surrounding area, and the Bahamas. Ospreys breed January-May and can be found in Alaska, most of
Canada, some sections of the U.S. East coast, and the North-West corner of the U.S. Migration patterns
direct ospreys through the central-southern area of Canada, the majority of the U.S., and much of Central
 3

America into coastal areas that remain warm throughout winter. In addition to the year round locations,
ospreys overwinter along the South-West coast of California, coastal regions along the Gulf of Mexico,
and the Western coastline of Central America.
In 1975, Charles J. Henny with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that North Atlantic
populations will probably never fully recover. However, this year within a 50 mile radius of Stockton’s
campuses 874 nests were observed, though not all of
them were occupied or successful (Figure 2). In 2020
The New Jersey Osprey Project found that there were
647 nests, 503 of which had known outcomes; 503
nests were properly monitored for success rates of
offspring. From those nests, 812 young survived—
making an overall reproduction rate of 1.61 (Wurst &
Clark, 2022). The recovery and prosperity of the
Figure 1: North American migration patterns of
osprey under environmental safeguards has been
the osprey.

remarkable.
Ospreys build massive nests majorly from sticks
and twigs, lining the nest with bark, grass, and other
natural materials. Over time, these nests can become 3-6
feet in diameter. The average clutch size that a female
osprey lays is between 1 and 4 eggs. With the help of
conservation projects, osprey nests can be found on man-
made platforms or they find clever nesting spots
including telephone poles and buoys. More natural areas
where they nest consist of treetops, snags, or even on the
ground in some cases (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, n.d.). Unfortunately, improper disposal of human
waste including balloons and nets are appearing more frequently in these osprey nests (Wurst & Clark,
2022). This is alarming because the adults and young could become easily entangled in this material
resulting in death.

Figure 2: Existing Osprey Nests within 50 miles of

Stockton University’s Atlantic City and Galloway
campuses. Source: Osprey Watch. Center for
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According to the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New
Jersey, osprey nests should be placed at least twenty five to fifty feet from water's edge to ensure it is not
lost from soil erosion (Wurst & Clark, 2022). They recommend a nest that is built with treated or cedar
lumber with galvanized hardware on a twenty foot pole with four feet dug deep into the ground. The
nesting platform on the top of the pole should be a three by three foot platform with a six inch perimeter
wall. The platform is secured with two two-by-fours as seen in Figure 3. The platform is not solid wood,
and should be filled with three to four tree branches to hold nesting material (Conserve Wildlife
Foundation of New Jersey, n.d.). An ideal nest will have a perch directly on the nest as a two-by-four with
a tree branch extending from the nesting platform perpendicularly. An additional perch is necessary, and
may be at least eight feet in height, with four feet dug into the ground, and a two-by-four or a tree branch
secured perpendicularly on top (Figure 4).

Figure 3: Building an Osprey Platform. Clark, K., &

Wurst, B. (2020, January). Living with ospreys in New
Jersey… Government of New Jersey. Figure 4: Building an Osprey Nest Platform. Source:
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. (n.d.).
New Jersey Osprey Project.
Discussion
Pandion haliaetus carolinensis is understood to be a viable species to habitat on Stockton
University’s Galloway and Atlantic City campuses and district areas. The subspecies of osprey are found
 5

at great abundance in a fifty mile radius of the campuses, and more habitats may be implemented to
encourage a further range inland near areas with lakes and waterways like Stocktons Galloway campus.
The Atlantic City campus district showed multiple nests in a five mile radius demonstrating the
potential of more nests being successful in the area. Our report introduced eleven potential nesting sites
within three miles of the Atlantic City campus. Many of these sites were placed on the edge of
marshlands in the Lakes Bay, with one being less than a mile from the Atlantic City Campus; all sites
were placed on a coastline (Figure 5). The Galloway campus district showed no nests in a three mile
radius, though nests were found along Morses Mill Stream which flows directly through the on-campus
lake, Lake Fred. The only nest found on a Stockton affiliated site was at the Stockton Marine Field
Station in Port Republic. Our study introduced four nesting sites directly on campus on the outskirts of
Lake Fred, one site on Moss Mill Lake, and three additional nests on the southern end of Morses Mill
Stream toward the campus, all within a three mile radius of the Galloway campus (Figure 6). Ospreys
have a difficult time navigating through thick tree cover due to their massive wingspan, so our locations
were picked carefully to ensure ample open air space to take off from a built nest and a nearby perch.

Figure 5: Potential Osprey Nest locations on or Figure 6: Potential Osprey Nest locations on or
near Stockton University Atlantic City campus. near Stockton University’s Galloway campus.
Source: Osprey Watch. Center for Conservation Source: Osprey Watch. Center for Conservation
Biology. (2022). Biology. (2022).
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References
Ames, P. L., & Gerald S. Mersereau. (1964, April). Some Factors in the Decline of the Osprey in
Connecticut. The Auk, 81(2), 173–185. https://doi.org/10.2307/4082767
Berry-Caban, C. (2021, October 1). DDT and Silent Spring: Fifty Years After. Journal of
Military and Veterans’ Health. https://jmvh.org/article/ddt-and-silent-spring-fifty-years-after/
Bierregaard, R., Poole, A., & Washburn, B. (2014, December 1). Ospreys (Pandion Haliaetus) in the 21st
century: Populations, migration, management, and research priorities. BioOne Complete.
https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-48/issue-4/0892-1016-48.4.301/
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48.4.301.full
Buchheit, J. (2021, December 16). Developing a habitat model for Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in
Colorado using GIS: Where should new nesting platforms be built for the expanded Gross
Reservoir? Proquest.
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Spring 2004 – Volume XXX, Number 1. New Jersey Audubon Society. P. 2-6.
Clark, K., & Wurst, B. (2020, January). Living with ospreys in New Jersey: A guide for the removal,
relocation, and placement of osprey nests. Government of New Jersey. Retrieved October 18,
2022, from https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/osprey_nest_guidance.pdf
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. (n.d.). New Jersey Osprey Project.
http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/protecting/projects/osprey/
Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Osprey life history, all about birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. All
About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/lifehistory
Department of Environmental Protection. (n.d.). Osprey, pandion haliaetus - government of New
Jersey. NJ.gov. https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/osprey.pdf
Ewins, P. J. (1997, March 6). Osprey (Pandion Haliaetus) & Populations in Forested Areas of
North America: Changes, Their Causes and Management recommendations. Sora.
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jrr/v031n02/p00138-p00150.pdf
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Osprey-in-North-America-pp199-222.pdf
Sakakibara, T., Noguchi, M., Yoshii, C., & Azuma, A. (2020, January 31). Diet of the Osprey Pandion
Haliaetus In Inland Japan. BioOne Complete. https://bioone.org/journals/ornithological-
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Wurst, B., & Clark, K. (2022, April). 2021 NJ Osprey Project Report. Conserve Wildlife Foundation of
New Jersey. https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/osprey20.pdf