The osprey, commonly known as the fish hawk, always lives near various bodies of water mainly because they specialize in hunting fish. In fact, they have modified talons to get a quick and firm grasp on the slippery fish. During the breeding season they usually return to their previous nest. The nests are usually situated high in the trees, telephone poles, radar towers and occasionally on the ground. The basketlike nests are made entirely of sticks. The adults successfully raise 2 to 3 young a season.

Osprey population was considerably high all along the North American Atlantic Coast, before their population was diminished by the use of pesticides in their food. DDT and other highly toxic pesticides contaminated the ospreys food supply in the following manner: once the vegetation was sprayed with the pesticide, the rain or irrigation further dispersed the contaminant to the nearby bodies of water in which it was absorbed by the plants and then spread through the food chain. The larger fish are heavily contaminated and in turn consumed by the ospreys. The toxin interfered with the osprey's calcium intake creating a thinning of the egg's shell which caused them to collapse when being brooded. Like the eagles, the osprey population rebounded with the ban of DDT in the United States.