08/19/2026
Misty the Osprey (top right) and her mate Charlie (bottom right) and their two fledglings have left their nest and taken up temporary residence on sailboat mastheads at Constitution Marina on Boston Harbor.
The Osprey population collapsed dramatically from the 1950's to 1972, due to habitat loss and the widespread use of pesticides which prevented the eggs from surviving incubation. Today, thanks to habitat restoration and the banning of DDT, there are more than 8,000 breeding pairs in North America.
Over the next few weeks this pair will teach their offspring to catch herring. mackerel and menhaden before heading south for the winter. Misty will leave first - probably by the end of the month, and Charlie will leave a few weeks later, accompanied by the two juveniles.
You can see them from the North Washington Street Bridge or the Harborwalk as they hunt between Charlestown and the North End, or you can watch them online on the Boston Harbor Live YouTube channel at youtube.com//live
Save the Harbor / Save the Bay, Boston Harbor Now, Mass Audubon, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, WCVB Channel 5 Boston, The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Boston 25 News, Bruce Berman MassLive