Wetlands provide essential ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, water purification, flood mitigation and biodiversity support. Lake Karataş has been recognised as a Wildlife Development Area since 2006. However, it is experiencing reductions in water volume and habitat size due to insufficient rainfall, water source drying and intensive agricultural practices. This study assessed ecological changes and their effects on avian diversity using remote sensing, climate data and ornithological surveys.

This dataset presents bird occurrence records from Lake Karataş (Burdur, Türkiye), derived from field surveys conducted in 2021–2022 using the point count method. The Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was derived from Sentinel-2 imagery (2017–2024) and climate data were sourced from TerraClimate. Species richness was estimated using the Jackknife method. Lake Karataş, a shallow system converted to a reservoir in 1982, is fed by the Sarıdere. In this study, 46 bird species were recorded, including the Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus, near threatened (NT)) and Common Pochard (Aythya ferina, vulnerable (VU)). Remote-sensing observations from 2017 to 2024 indicated agricultural expansion, wetland contraction and marked interannual variation in lake inundation. The summer season demonstrated the highest species richness (37 species) and abundance (3785 individuals) with an NDVI of 0.1418 and an average of 32.55°C, whereas autumn's peak NDVI (0.1482) resulted in only nine species. The findings suggest that integrating NDVI, climate metrics and bird diversity indicators is crucial for restoration planning, emphasising sustainable agriculture and water management to restore ecosystem services.