Our partners at LightHawk are helping us keep a close eye on the toxic algae crisis in Lake Okeechobee.

This past Friday, pilot John Kusianovich flew a route along the northwest shoreline of the lake. The video above captures the back half of the trip, following the flight path seen in the image below. By John’s account, the flight which included a 360 where the Kissimmee river enters the lake, didn’t yield too many views of algae on the surface “aside from some patches here and there.”

The latest NOAA satellite imagery estimating an active bloom that was roughly 260 square miles as of yesterday, is a good reminder that algae can be present even when it’s not visible.

As we head into some of the hottest months of the summer, our fingers are crossed that that’s a pattern that continues to hold. Thanks to LightHawk, we’re going to keep documenting the good, the bad, and the ugly days from the sky.