Bird Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Bird Lake pulls an A: clarity at 17.0 ft and phosphorus readings still being added put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Trophically, Bird Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. Bird Lake reaches 40 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 97 acres, Bird Lake sits below the Wisconsin median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Within Oneida County's 134 graded waters, Bird Lake sits at rank 16, near the top of the local distribution.

An invasive species record — Chinese Mystery Snail — has been logged at Bird Lake; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. Walleye are documented at Bird Lake, one of 4 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Bird Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.