NEWS RELEASE

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Sept. 17, 1999

CONTACT: Dr. George Wallace (850) 265-3676 or Fisheries Biologist Michael Hill (850) 671-3474

DRAINING OF LAKE JACKSON ATTRACTS SCORES OF WADING BIRDS

For those who enjoy wildlife it's a spectacular sight. Lake Jackson in Leon County has naturally emptied through a sinkhole on the south side of the lake and large numbers of wading birds are descending on the exposed mud flats in a feeding frenzy.

Dr. George Wallace, a wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), said the birds are being attracted by small fish and other creatures trapped in the shallow pools of water and to the mats of aquatic vegetation left airing on the muddy lake bottom. On Wednesday he said there were more than 300 wood storks, 200 white ibis and scores of other herons and egrets.

Other birds that were spotted included glossy ibis, American avocet, buff-breasted sandpiper, pectoral sandpiper, least sandpipers, lesser yellowlegs, northern harrier and palm warblers.

During normal water times Lake Jackson covers approximately 4,000 acres. A large sinkhole connects with the Florida aquifer and feeds the lake but biologists say roughly every 25 years the lake drains through the sinkhole and goes dry.

FWC Fisheries Biologist Rich Cailteux has worked on Lake Jackson for years and says the lake draining cycle is actually seven years ahead of schedule.

"The natural draining began slowly two years ago but accelerated this week, dropping nearly a foot on Wednesday and more than two feet Thursday," Cailteux said. "There's not much water left with the exception of the sinkhole."

While the drawdown is hard on fishing-related businesses around the lake, it's one of the best things that can happen to rejuvenate aging lakes and ultimately improve fishing.

Meanwhile, Wallace said anyone interested in viewing the menagerie of feeding birds needs a good set of binoculars but should act quickly before the birds disperse. One of the best viewing sites on the south side of the lake is the boat ramp at the end of Faulk Drive in Harbinwood Estates.