The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is one of the most widely distributed and well studied bird species of the Northern Hemisphere. Osprey populations in North America have shown a dramatic recovery in the past decade with breeding populations continuing to expand along the Atlantic Coast. However, little is known about the potential impacts of these birds to military flight operations. Analyses of bird-strike databases demonstrate that Osprey are a serious risk to both civilian and military aircraft; conversely, Osprey-aircraft collisions have obvious negative results for these birds as well. In an effort to better understand the risks of Osprey-aircraft collisions, a research project funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) Legacy Resource Management Program was iniated in 2006. This project incorporates the application of satellite-based biotelemetry and geo-spatial referencing to quantify bird-strike risk of migrating and breeding Osprey from the Mid-Atlantic Chesapeake Bay Region.

Click here to view an interactive osprey map!