Andrew Shipotofsky
•8/13/2026
SANIBEL, Fla. (WINK)—Southwest Florida's osprey population is showing signs of a strong recovery, with a successful nesting season offering encouraging news not only for the birds, but also for the health of the region's coastal ecosystems.
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, or SCCF, recently wrapped up its first osprey nesting season overseeing the region's longtime monitoring program. Researchers documented 187 chicks fledging out of 221, an 84.6% success rate.
The season's productivity rate reached 1.24 fledglings per nest, surpassing the 0.8 to 1.15 range SCCF says is needed to sustain the osprey population.
"We've been seeing a huge increase in our ospreys, especially since Hurricane Ian," said Amanda Manrique, SCCF's Osprey Program Coordinator. "So, it's been really great to see that steady increase and that population start to return."
Volunteers monitored 151 active nests across Sanibel, Captiva, Pine Island and Fort Myers Beach during the season. The program watches more than 200 osprey nests throughout Southwest Florida, tracking population health and reproductive success. That information also contributes to the global OspreyWatch database.
The program began a new chapter earlier this year when The International Osprey Foundation officially transferred its mission to SCCF. Founded in 1981, the foundation spent decades building the region's osprey monitoring program before turning it over to SCCF in January.
For researchers, this year's numbers represent more than just a successful nesting season.
"So, the sustainability benchmark says that if there is an average of 0.8 to 1.1 fledglings per occupied nest, then that is going to sustain a healthy population of ospreys, and we had 1.24 fledglings per active nest," Manrique said. "So that means that our osprey population is going to continue to be stable and increase."
Ospreys rely almost entirely on fish for food, making their population an important indicator of conditions in Southwest Florida's waterways and coastal estuaries.
Because their diet depends so heavily on fish, problems affecting water quality can eventually affect fish populations and, in turn, the birds that depend on them.
"When there's something going on with the water that's then affecting the fish, it's going to directly affect those ospreys, and we'll see decreases and changes in their population," Manrique said. "So this year we had a successful osprey season, so that can tell us that our water quality is probably pretty good."
SCCF describes ospreys as a sentinel for water quality, meaning their population health can provide scientists with another way to monitor the health of coastal ecosystems.
Researchers say favorable water conditions likely played a role in this year's success. Lower rainfall and the lack of major water releases from Lake Okeechobee meant less runoff and nutrient pollution, helping maintain the clearer water conditions Southwest Florida has experienced since the spring.
Clearer water can give ospreys a major advantage when hunting.
"If the water is clear, that's going to increase their success at catching fish, which is going to then increase the success of their chicks," Manrique said.
Southwest Florida's coastal ecosystems have faced years of environmental stress.
The region has endured major red tide events, including the devastating bloom of 2018, along with several powerful hurricanes in recent years, including Ian, Helene and Milton.
This year's results, however, have helped push osprey numbers to levels not seen since 2017.
"Ospreys have about a three to five-year recovery rate from catastrophic events," Manrique said. "We are kind of seeing that increase again steadily over the past four seasons."
The strong nesting season is an encouraging sign for one of Southwest Florida's key environmental indicators.
After years of environmental stress and natural disasters, researchers are now seeing a steady recovery in the region's osprey population — and because of the birds' close connection to the health of local waterways, their success could also be a positive sign for the coastal ecosystems they call home.
