THE BENEFITS OF CLEAN WATER
So how are we doing? Pretty well, it seems. The combination of civic activism, protective regulations, and voluntary guidelines has produced a marked resurgence in wildlife populations, including ospreys, related in large part to the im- proved health of our waterways.
According to the Hartford Courant, the Audubon Society reported that statewide, "volunteers counted 725 osprey fledglings in 2018, an increase of more than 103 percent from the number found in 2015." Patrick Comins, executive director of Connecticut Audubon, said that this was "an indication that our waterways are cleaner and that there are fish for the ospreys to eat."
Members of the Norwalk flotilla take pride in their significant contributions to this accomplishment, applying their community activism to improving local water quality.
It's not unusual these days for members of a routine safety or water-quality patrol around Norwalk Harbor to count well over 20 active osprey nests.
Click here for the Connecticut Audubon Society's Osprey Nation 2018 report.