University of Illinois Springfield Professor Contributes to the Rise of Osprey Populations in Illinois

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — A remarkable effort led by a University of Illinois Springfield professor has sparked a significant resurgence in the osprey bird population across the state.

Tih-Fen Ting, an Associate Professor and the director of the School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health at UIS, alongside her team, embarked on this ambitious project back in 2013. Their dedication has borne fruit, with the osprey population in Illinois soaring from just 16 known breeding pairs to an impressive 90 pairs by 2023.

Before this concerted effort, ospreys, renowned for their large size, fish-eating habits, and distinctive nests, were a rare sight in Illinois. The university notes that prior to 2010, nesting attempts were infrequent, and only a handful of permanent breeding pairs were recorded.

Ting’s ongoing research is bolstered by a generous $150,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), with additional support from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). This support continues to be crucial in fostering a thriving osprey community in the region.

UIS students have played a major role in the project by helping raise, monitor and track young ospreys translocated from Massachusetts, conducted the first statewide osprey nest survey in 2025 and are studying how climate change and prey abundance may affect reproductive success in the source population.

“It’s very exciting to see the number of osprey nests increasing over the years,” Ting said. “I extend my sincere gratitude to the USFWS for funding this project and to IDNR for their invaluable support. This work would not have been possible without the generous in-kind assistance from numerous institutions, including UIS, and dedicated individuals over the years.”

To improve recovery, Ting and her team use a technique called “hacking,” which involves relocating young ospreys from other regions and caring for them until they can fly and survive on their own.

UIS said this approach has worked well in other Midwestern states, including Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio.

“Among the few general approaches used to reintroduce birds of prey, hacking is considered the best technique because of its versatility in practice for a wide variety of raptor species and its potential to establish site fidelity in the released birds,” Ting said.

UIS has also partnered with the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s South Coast Osprey Project to obtain chicks for relocation to sites in Illinois. This includes Banner Marsh State Fish and Wildlife Area and Lake Shelbyville Fish and Wildlife Management Area.

However, UIS said challenges remain. Ting said many ospreys in northern Illinois are nesting on cell towers and utility poles instead of artificial nest platforms, which could create safety and maintenance concerns in populated areas.

Continuing the hacking program in rural central Illinois remains an important goal for long-term recovery.

The next phase of this project will include statewide nest surveys to measure how many young ospreys successfully leave the nest each year. This information will then help determine whether the species can eventually be removed from Illinois’ state-threatened list.

“Despite an increase in the number of osprey nests statewide, little is known about the number of fledglings added to the population each year,” Ting said. “Therefore, we survey the nests to determine the productivity of the breeding osprey population in Illinois. Eventually, we will incorporate such information into a Population Viability Analysis to help inform future delisting decisions for ospreys in Illinois.”