Osprey fledgings thrive in almost all parts of Chesapeake Bay

This seven- to eight-week-old osprey fledgling was photographed in a nest at Poplar Island, Maryland. The island in Chesapeake Bay was used as a control site, where toxic chemical residues were low, in a USGS study of chemical contaminants in Bay ospreys’ food chain. Researchers found Chesapeake Bay ospreys are thriving, and nestlings were healthy at almost all sites.