Florida LAKEWATCH is a citizen volunteer lake monitoring program that facilitates &#8220;hands-on&#8221; citizen participation in the management of Florida waters. Collectively, volunteers have gathered accurate water quality data on over 2,700 aquatic systems, including wetlands, dune lakes, estuaries, streams/rivers, and springs in 57 out the 67 counties in Florida. The importance of their work can [&#8230;]

<figure id="attachment_3238" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3238" style="width: 249px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sfrc/files/2020/12/Black-necked-stilt.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-3238 size-medium lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" alt="" width="249" height="300" data-src="http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sfrc/files/2020/12/Black-necked-stilt-249x300.jpg"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3238" class="wp-caption-text">This Black-necked stilt is a rare aquatic bird species counted during the LAKEWATCH aquatic bird surveys. Credit: Lawrence Korhnak</figcaption></figure>
<a href="https://lakewatch.ifas.ufl.edu/">Florida LAKEWATCH</a> is a citizen volunteer lake monitoring program that facilitates &#8220;hands-on&#8221; citizen participation in the management of Florida waters. Collectively, volunteers have gathered accurate water quality data on over 2,700 aquatic systems, including wetlands, dune lakes, estuaries, streams/rivers, and springs in 57 out the 67 counties in Florida.
The importance of their work can not be emphasized enough, as volunteers are the most practical way to collect information on birds that rely on Florida lakes. They are the core of the LAKEWATCH initiative in Florida and other programs for citizen scientists. Citizen volunteers can have more comprehensive and intimate knowledge of these lake systems than biologists, who only visit lakes once or twice a year. 
<figure id="attachment_3237" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3237" style="width: 271px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sfrc/files/2020/12/Least-bittern.jpg"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3237 size-medium lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" alt="" width="271" height="300" data-src="http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sfrc/files/2020/12/Least-bittern-271x300.jpg"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3237" class="wp-caption-text">Least bitterns. Credit: Mark Hoyer</figcaption></figure>
The planning of lake resources can be extremely complex, and when you consider that birds fly, this management challenge becomes even more complicated. In order for aquatic birds to complete their life cycles, they need a diverse range of resources and can migrate from lake to lake to find the environment that best suits their needs. Management techniques, such as invasive aquatic plant nutrient control and invasion removal can increase, decrease, or have little or no effect on an individual aquatic bird species, adding to the difficulty of predicting the effects of resource management activities.
The data collected through citizen science only contributes to our understanding of the complex interactions between birds and lakes. Please consider <a href="https://lakewatch.ifas.ufl.edu/about-us/contact-us/">contacting LAKEWATCH</a> if you think that you might be interested in joining other birders across Florida to engage in the citizen science project and better understand birds, lakes and their interactions. 
Please <a href="https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa229">click here</a> to read the full document.

This Black-necked stilt is a rare aquatic bird species counted during the LAKEWATCH aquatic bird surveys. Credit: Lawrence Korhnak
Florida LAKEWATCH is a citizen volunteer lake monitoring program that facilitates “hands-on” citizen participation in the management of Florida waters. Collectively, volunteers have gathered accurate water quality data on over 2,700 aquatic systems, including wetlands, dune lakes, estuaries, streams/rivers, and springs in 57 out the 67 counties in Florida.
The importance of their work can not be emphasized enough, as volunteers are the most practical way to collect information on birds that rely on Florida lakes. They are the core of the LAKEWATCH initiative in Florida and other programs for citizen scientists. Citizen volunteers can have more comprehensive and intimate knowledge of these lake systems than biologists, who only visit lakes once or twice a year. 
Least bitterns. Credit: Mark Hoyer
The planning of lake resources can be extremely complex, and when you consider that birds fly, this management challenge becomes even more complicated. In order for aquatic birds to complete their life cycles, they need a diverse range of resources and can migrate from lake to lake to find the environment that best suits their needs. Management techniques, such as invasive aquatic plant nutrient control and invasion removal can increase, decrease, or have little or no effect on an individual aquatic bird species, adding to the difficulty of predicting the effects of resource management activities.
The data collected through citizen science only contributes to our understanding of the complex interactions between birds and lakes. Please consider contacting LAKEWATCH if you think that you might be interested in joining other birders across Florida to engage in the citizen science project and better understand birds, lakes and their interactions. 
Please click here to read the full document.

Florida LAKEWATCH is a citizen volunteer lake monitoring program that facilitates “hands-on” citizen participation in the management of Florida waters. Collectively, volunteers have gathered accurate water quality data on over 2,700 aquatic systems, including wetlands, dune lakes, estuaries, streams/rivers, and springs in 57 out the 67 counties in Florida. The importance of their work can […]

Florida’s Birds, Lakes, and Volunteers

Birds

Aves

Wild Birds

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UF/IFAS Photo by Cat Wofford. Photo taken 04-05-22.

Aquatic birds living in freshwater or marine habitats, capable of floating, wading, swimming or diving. [<a href="https://lod.nal.usda.gov/nalt/11499">NALT</a>]

Aves acu&aacute;ticas que viven en h&aacute;bitats de agua fresca o marina, capaces de flotar, nadar o bucear. [<a href="https://lod.nal.usda.gov/nalt/11499">NALT</a>]

Water Birds

Aves acuáticas

Ducks

Patos

"To serve, advise, and develop educational programs for Florida citizens in conjunction with county extension agents and other state, county, and local organizations interested in wildlife issues." Programs are oriented toward the use, conservation, management, and appreciation of wildlife resources, and requests for such programs can be made through county Extension offices or directly with specialists. (Source: <a href="http://www.wec.ufl.edu/extension/">Florida Wildlife Extension</a>)
<h3>Useful Links</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.wec.ufl.edu/">WEC website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_wildlife_authors">WEC EDIS Author pages</a></li>
</ul>

Water Birds

Narrower Topics

Ducks

Publications

Wading Birds of Northern Belize (trifold brochure)

Nesting Island Creation for Wading Birds

A Beginner's Guide to Water Management—Common Aquatic Birds Using Florida Lakes

Wading Birds of Northern Belize

Why Shouldn't We Feed Water Birds?

Related IFAS Blog Posts

Florida’s Birds, Lakes, and Volunteers

Related Pages