In my excitement, I did exactly what I always try NOT to do Sorry All, In my excitement, I did exactly what I always try NOT to do - not give enough details.
Sherburne Refuge HQ/Office is on Sherburne Co. Rd. 9, five miles west of Hwy. 169. There's a sign at the end of our driveway. If you cross the St. Francis River bridge, and see the old school house, you've gone a block too far west. You are welcome to pull up in front of the office to park and can wander around. We are not open weekends. There are directions to the refuge on our web site, here's the link: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/sherburne/GetTo.htm I first saw the magpie about 2:40 p.m. - I was on the phone, looking out my office window at my bird feeder, which is on the north side of the building. (there's another feeder on the west side) The bird was flying toward my feeder and landed briefly in the sapling next to the feeder. Blue jays quickly chased it back out into the middle of the river, where it sought refuge in some dogwood/brush. It hung out there for a few minutes, and then flew out into the open in the middle of the river and landed on a stump. Then it went back into the dogwoods and within 10-15 minutes it was out of view. I don't know which direction it went. I haven't seen it again, but didn't go out to look, as it's quitting time on Friday afternoon and I have somewhere I need to be. Bob Janssen & Dave Cahlander say there are two other records for magpie in Sherburne County, from 1921 and 1972 - I don't know locations. I was talking on the phone and looking out the window when I saw it fly in, and thought to myself, "Hey - look - a magpie - cool!" And then of course a few seconds later I realized it was a little more exciting than that, and hollered down the hall for other staff to look too! (I had magpies in my Utah backyard almost daily). I got photos good enough for documentation before it flew out of the area. A GREAT way to end the work week!!! Betsy Beneke Visitor Services Manager Sherburne NWR, Sherburne County ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
