Osprey, a Species Returned from the Brink

In 1976, wildlife monitors counted 13 breeding pairs of osprey along Oregon's Willamette River. In 2008, the osprey count was 275 breeding pairs. The use of DDT, a pesticide, was the prime cause for the osprey's decline. With the ban of DDT in 1972, they began to return. 

Today osprey can be found across wide swaths of the U.S. West. They are known to live and nest near cities and in industrial areas near water. They hover above lakes, rivers and streams to find fish, and then dive underwater to catch their prey. The behavior is a rarity for raptors, and an absolute joy to watch. Many an outdoor enthusiast has been surprised by a loud splash followed by the large brown and white bird emerging with a fish in its talons.

Oregon Field Guide tells the story of osprey recovery in this week's segment, which you can watch in the slideshow above. See the birds and their hatchlings as they nest in an industrial work site on Portland's Swan Island. The featured adventures below are places where you can go near Portland to get up close views of osprey nesting and hunting.