Two days later, in the upper part of the bay, Barnett Rattner and Dan Day, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, are with two undergraduate students checking osprey nests along the Chester River near Kent Island, Maryland. This is year two of a collaboration with Watts, adding 100 nests on this river. Last year, it was just the Choptank River.

"In 2024, 80% of the nests either didn't get started or had eggs or young and failed," Rattner says. "The Choptank River in 2025 is no better than it was in 2024."

Rattner’s team also is looking at the species of fish ospreys are catching. Some homeowners with osprey stands have let them put up game cameras. Fish experts will examine tens of thousands of images to pick out those with clearly distinguishable fish.