Osprey came back from the brink once. Now chicks are dying in nests, and some blame overfishing

GLOUCESTER POINT, Va. (AP) — Stepping onto an old wooden duck blind in the middle of the York River, Bryan Watts looks down at a circle of sticks and pine cones on the weathered, guano-spattered platform. It’s a failed osprey nest, taken over by diving terns.

“The birds never laid here this year,” said Watts, near the mouth of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay. “And that's a pattern we've been seeing these last couple of years.”

Watts has a more intimate relationship with ospreys than most people have with a bird — he has climbed to their nests to free them from plastic bags, fed them by hand and monitored their eggs with telescopic mirrors.

The fish-eating raptor known for gymnastic dives and whistle-like chirps is an American conservation success story. After pesticides and other hazards nearly eliminated the species from much of the country, the hawk-like bird rebounded after the banning of DDT in 1972 and now numbers in the thousands in the U.S.

But Watts has documented an alarming trend. The birds, which breed in many parts of the U.S., are failing to successfully fledge enough chicks around their key population center of the Chesapeake Bay. The longtime biologist blames the decline of menhaden, a small schooling fish critical to the osprey diet. Without menhaden to eat, chicks are starving and dying in nests, Watts said.

Watts's claim has put him and environmental groups at odds with the fishing industry, trade unions and sometimes government regulators. Menhaden is valuable for fish oil, fish meal and agricultural food as well as bait.

U.S. fishermen have caught at least 1.1 billion pounds of menhaden every year since 1951. Members of the industry tout its sustainability and said the decline in osprey may have nothing to do with fishing.

But without help, the osprey population could tumble to levels not seen since the dark days of DDT, said Watts, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

“The osprey are yelling pretty loudly that, hey, there's not enough menhaden for us to reproduce successfully,” Watts said. “And we should be listening to them to be more informed fully on the fisheries side, and we should take precaution on the fisheries management side. But that hasn't won the day at this point.”

Watts, who has studied osprey on the Chesapeake for decades, has backed his claims of population decline by publishing studies in scientific journals. He said it boils down to a simple statistic — to maintain population, osprey pairs need to average 1.15 chicks per year.

Osprey were reproducing at that level in the 1980s, but today in some areas around the main stem of the Chesapeake, it's less than half of that, Watts said. In particularly distressed areas, they aren't even reproducing at one-tenth that level, he said. And the decline in available menhaden matches the areas of nesting failure, Watts said.

Also called pogies or bunkers, the oily menhaden are especially important for young birds because they are more nutritious than other fish in the sea. Osprey “reproductive performance is inextricably linked to the availability and abundance” of menhaden, Watts wrote in a 2023 study published in Frontiers in Marine Science.

Conservationists have been concerned for years, saying too many menhaden have been removed to maintain their crucial role in the ocean food chain. Historian H. Bruce Franklin went so far as to title his 2007 book on menhaden “The Most Important Fish In The Sea.”

Menhaden help sustain one of the world's largest fisheries, worth more than $200 million at the docks in 2023. Used as bait, the fish are critical for valuable commercial targets such as Maine lobster. They're also beloved by sportfishermen.

The modern industry is dominated by Omega Protein, a Reedville, Virginia, company that is a subsidiary of Canadian aquaculture giant Cooke. The harvesting of the menhaden is performed by an American company, Ocean Harvesters, which is based in Reedville and contracts with Omega, which handles processing. The companies pushed back at the idea that fishing is the cause of osprey decline, although they did acknowledge that fewer menhaden are showing up in some parts of the bay.

Federal data show osprey breeding is in decline in many parts of the country, including where menhaden is not harvested at all, said Ben Landry, an Omega spokesperson. Climate change, pollution and development could be playing a role, said Landry and others with the company.

Blaming fishing “just reeks of environmental special interest groups having an influence over the process,” Landry said.

The menhaden fishery is managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, an interstate body that crafts rules and sets fishing quotas. Prompted by questions about ospreys, it created a work group to address precautionary management of the species in the Chesapeake Bay.

In April, this group proposed several potential management approaches, including seasonal closures, restrictions on quotas or days at sea, and limitations on kinds of fishing gear. The process of creating new rules could begin this summer, said James Boyle, fishery management plan coordinator with the commission.

The osprey population has indeed shown declines in some areas since 2012, but it's important to remember the bird's population is much larger than it was before DDT was banned, Boyle said.

“There are big increases in osprey population since the DDT era,” Boyle said, citing federal data showing a six-fold increase in osprey populations along the Atlantic Coast since the 1960s.

To a number of environmental groups, any decline is too much. This irritates some labor leaders who worry about losing more jobs as the fishing industry declines.

Kenny Pinkard, retired vice president of UFCW Local 400's executive board and a longtime Virginia fishermen, said he feels the industry is being scapegoated.

“There are some people who just don't want to see us in business at all,” he said.

But Chris Moore, Virginia executive director for Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said the country risks losing an iconic bird if no action is taken. He said Watts's studies show that the osprey will fail without access to menhaden.

“Osprey have been a success story,” Moore said. “We're in a situation where they're not replacing their numbers. We'll actually be in a situation where we're in a steep decline.”

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine.

A bald eagle, left, steals a fish from an osprey before it could feed above the Lynnhaven River, June 30, 2025, in Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

An osprey is silhouetted as it perches atop a nest on the Lynnhaven River, June 30, 2025, in Virgina Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Brian Watts, research professor and director of the Center for Conservation Biology at The College of William & Mary, looks over at failed osprey nest atop a wooden duck blind on the Lower York River, June 30, 2025, in Gloucester Point, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

A young osprey returns to its nest on the Lynnhaven River, June 30, 2025, in Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

An osprey flies with a half-eaten fish in its talons above the Lynnhaven River, June 30, 2025, in Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Before the war, Ukraine’s own “Dancing with the Stars” was a cherished and popular television show, dazzling the audiences with performances by celebrities and professional dancers. The show is now back on for one special episode — this time with Ukrainian wartime heroes as the stars, underscoring the nation's resilience in difficult times.

Many still remember how President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — then an actor — won the dance competition in 2006, the year that “Tantsi z zirkamy” as the show is known in Ukrainian, first debuted.

In the new, special episode, the dancers perform with prosthetic limbs, showcasing their strength in overcoming adversity. The lineup of participants includes public figures who rose to prominence since Russia's full-out war on Ukraine was launched in February 2022.

But like all of present-day Ukraine, the show — which is part of an international franchise — has had to deal with a multitude of wartime challenges, including frequent power outages.

All the proceeds will go to the Superhumans Center, a specialist clinic for the treatment and rehabilitation of war-wounded victims.

During a prerecording last week, dancers spun, leapt and glided under the sparkle of lights, some seamlessly integrating their prosthetic limbs into the choreography.

For creative producer Volodymyr Zavadiuk, every segment of the show is precious, creating something special during tough times.

“It’s about our resilience and it’s about our future,” said Zavadiuk, who also heads Big Brave Events and the Big Entertainment Shows department at 1+1 Media.

Among the performers was Ruslana Danilkina, a war veteran who lost her leg in combat in 2022 and is now renowned in Ukraine for dedicating herself to helping injured troops adapt to life with prosthetics.

She delivered a passionate performance centered on reclaiming her womanhood following the traumatic injury.

Also back in the show is beloved dancer Dmytro Dikusar, this time as a competition judge. He juggled filming and serving with his platoon on the front lines.

Ukrainian rock musician Yevhen Halych sat in the makeup chair ahead of his number, reflecting on his own determination to bring back the show.

“We are filming this project in a country where there is a war. ... We have power cuts, we may have an air alert, it could be bombing," he said. "What do I feel? I feel a genuine desire to live a full life, no matter what happens.”

Producing the show's special episode has been no easy feat in time of war. A live broadcast was impossible — a Russian attack can happen at any time. Then there were the technical obstacles: during last week's recording, a key generator malfunctioned.

When the show airs on Sunday, audiences will vote for their favorite.

Danilkina, who was only 18 years old when she lost her leg and who today works at the Superhumans Center, enthralled everyone with her passionate performance, her prosthetic limb artfully integrated into her routine.

“Our dance number is about life. It’s about accepting love," she told The Associated Press after her performance. "Because in reality, when your body is wounded, it’s very difficult to love yourself. And allowing someone else to love you is even harder.”

Her injury was not the end of her life, she said, and now she wants to show “thousands of wounded boys and girls who are starting their lives over again” that it's not the end of theirs.

For veteran Ivan Voinov and his wife of three months, Solomiia, the show was more than just a dance performance: it was the second time they had danced together since his injury, the first time was at their wedding.

Solomiia Voinov smiled shyly, recounting how she had long tried to persuade Ivan that they should dance until he gave in.

“We don’t take our eyes off each other while dancing, and it’s a great connection,” she said. “I’m happy.”

Voinov said he was already planning their next dance — a bachata, a fast-paced, hip-swaying style of dance that originated in the Dominican Republic.

“We will be able to continue dancing," he said. "It means that there is a future.”

A ballet dancer warms up during the shooting of the Christmas TV show ''Dancing with the Stars'' during blackout hours caused by Russia's regular air attacks on the country's energy objects in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Volunteer soldier Rusya Danylkina, 21, who lost her leg in Russia-Ukraine war, and choreographer Pavlo Semakin perform during the shooting of the Christmas TV show ''Dancing with the Stars'' in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Well-known Ukrainian dancer Dmytro Dikusar and now serving as a soldier with his platoon on the front lines performs during the shooting of the Christmas TV show ''Dancing with the Stars'' in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Well-known Ukrainian artists perform during the shooting of the Christmas TV show ''Dancing with the Stars'' in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Volunteer soldier Rusya Danylkina, 21, who lost her leg in Russia-Ukraine war, and choreographer Pavlo Semakin perform during the shooting of the Christmas TV show ''Dancing with the Stars'' in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)