Mosquito & Gnat Attacks at Rollins Savanna Sunday 6-28-26

[Al Stokie]

Hello Bird People,

Didn't even take my bug spray with me as after all this place is a
grassland & bugs should not be a problem. But I walked the entire 3.5
mile long loop trail & the north end has a lot of trees & the minute I
got to that part of the trail on the way to the Dury Road parking lot
it was do nothing but try & fight off the mostly Gnats but also
Mosquitos as well. Could not even look at any birds until I got past
that wooded area. I ended up with several bites before I could get out
of that area. No where else had any biting bugs at all.

Rollins Savanna (7-10:15 am)

Great Blue Heron (2 fly-bys)
Green Heron (1)
Mallard (1-PR flying by)
GADWALL (1-F with 3 small young, Washington Rd boardwalk pond)
Killdeer (1 fly-by)
SANDHILL CRANE (1-AD with one half sized young)
Mourning Dove (8)
Red Bellied Woodpecker (1, a young one)
Flicker (9, includes 1 adult with 4 young)
Willow Flycatcher (H-1)
Eastern Kingbird (1)
Tree (8) & Barn (2) Swallows
Blue Jay (2)
Crow (also 2)
W.B. Nuthatch (H-1)
House Wren (2-3)
Marsh Wren (H-3)
Robin (~15)
Catbird (3)
Brown Thrasher (1)
Starling (a flock of 15)
Warbling Vireo (4, all at the south end)
Yellow Warbler (2)
Common Yellowthroat (12-15)
Cardinal (3)
Indigo Bunting (H-1)
Field Sparrow (5)
Song Sparrow (10-12)
Swamp Sparrow (H-2)
Red Wings (~25)
Grackle (6)
Cowbird (5)
House Finch (2)
Goldfinch (8)
House Sparrow (6)

So 36 species at Rollins plus 2 roadside additions for a day's total of 38.
Bird-Of-The-Day to the adult & young Sandhill Crane & Runner-Up to the
Gadwall family.

I did not find any Trumpeter Swans, Henslow's Sparrows nor Bobolinks,
species which are often to be found here.

Al Stokie
In Lake County today