Wildlife

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Raptors Rebound

 

 

 

Bald eagles continue their dramatic comeback; ospreys are doing well, too.

 

In 2021, the number of active territories and bald eagle chicks was the highest observed over the last 25 years, and likely much longer. Of the record 80 active territories, 13 were new territories for 2021.

The population of bald eagles is included as an indicator because the eagle is representative of species, which require large areas of relatively undisturbed land near rivers or lakes where the birds can find adequate supplies of fish and other prey that are – very importantly – only minimally contaminated. Iced-over rivers to the north can push more eagles south to Connecticut. The eagles spend their winter mostly along larger rivers where they have become a regular sight. 

_{Goal: Territories are resource areas used by eagles that have only one active nest. The goal for bald eagles is derived from the 1983 Northern States Bald Eagle Recovery Plan, prepared by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The Plan established a goal of 20 breeding birds (10 nests) for Connecticut. According to experts in the Bald Eagle Study Group, Connecticut could eventually host up to 200 nesting eagles (100 nests).}

In 2021, Connecticut’s mid-winter survey recorded 215 eagles throughout the State. Since 1979, observations of eagles during the Midwinter Eagle Survey have increased significantly.⁵¹

By the 1950’s, the bald eagle was no longer a nesting species (extirpated) in Connecticut. The bald eagle was first declared an endangered species with the passage of the federal Endangered Species Act in 1973. Populations eventually began to recover due to the ban on the pesticide DDT, the successful reintroduction programs of fostered chicks and fledglings, and protection measures. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reclassified the bald eagle from endangered to threatened in the lower 48 states. Populations continued to recover enough that, in 2007, the bald eagle was officially removed from the federal Endangered Species List. When Connecticut's first official Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species List was passed in 1992, the bald eagle was classified as “endangered”. Because of the increase in nesting pairs in recent years, the bald eagle's status in the state was reclassified as “threatened” in 2010.⁵²

Osprey:

Another large fish-eating bird of prey, the osprey, has rebounded in similar fashion to the eagle. From a low of nine nesting pairs in 1974, ospreys*, counted by the Connecticut Audubon Society's volunteers, were seen at more than 510 active nests in 2021, meaning they were occupied by an osprey pair. The 558 active nests resulted in 858 observed fledglings.⁵³

 

 

Osprey feed primarily on live fish; consequently, osprey nests are typically located along the Connecticut shore or proximate to water.

_{Goal: There is no established goal for ospreys in Connecticut, but ospreys are a “sentinel species,” meaning their health indicates the health of the environment around them. Ospreys are being monitored by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the Connecticut Audubon Society, and volunteers.}

_{Technical Note: *Data on fledglings for Osprey for 2014 was not available.} 

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⁵¹ _{DEEP, CT Bald Eagles 2021 Statewide Summary, Wildlife Division, Wildlife Diversity Program, and State and Tribal Wildlife Grants programs; personal communication from B. Hess, February 14, 2022.}
⁵² _{DEEP, Wildlife Division, Bald Eagle; portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets/Bald-Eagle.}
⁵³ _{Connecticut Audubon Society, “Osprey Nation Report for the 2021 Season”, www.ctaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Osprey-Nation-Report-for-the-2021-Season.pdf}