(Posted by <> via moumn.org) In having lived and birded in Cass County off-and-on for over 50 years, the only black-billed magpies I had seen until this year were in McKinley Twp where they are known to breed. This year I also found one in Sec. 20 of Ansel Twp on the Pine River Breeding Bird Survey route in June.
But this fall I have seen them elsewhere in the County on 3 separate occasions. First, in Sec. 24 of Birch Lake Twp on 22 October, then in Sec. 29 of Leech Lake Twp on 27 October, and lastly in Sec. 18 of Wilson Twp on 13 November. Dale Yerger reports they have been seen occasionally around Deep Portage, and they have been seen on the Pillager CBC twice, and my wife has seen them at Cass Lake a couple of times recently. But overall, I have the impression that they are either moving south this year in greater numbers than usual, or their local population is expanding. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
