Black-billed Magpie Continues 1/3 - Keweenaw Co.

[Joe Kaplan]

I spoke with Tom Wheeker today who saw the Mapie this morning when he
arrived (I think around 9:30) -- it didn't visit the deer carcass but
perched in the trees and did a fair amount of calling.

Hopefully with improvements made on the menu this week (we have added fish,
turkey, pork, and chicken - and a new deer carcass) it will visit with
greater frequency. When Zach found it earlier in the week the deer ribs on
hand were just about picked bare.  When it finally came in and fed yesterday
(it did so without making a sound) it went straight for the chicken - choked
down two big pieces - and flew off.  After that we saw it again in the trees
and it called almost continually (mostly out of sight) for about 20-30
minutes.  As Tom mentioned lots of hours waiting as this seems to be one
wary magpie.

Instead of walking in on the road - I would recommend parking on the main
road where the powerline crosses (about 1/4 mile past the river) and walk up
the powerline to the trail/road (<100 yards).  There's a nice hiding place
on the left before you cross the trail/road under a  white pine.  Walking in
on the powerline will give you a better chance of seeing this bird if it is
already there feeding.

Good luck -

Joe



On 1/3/07, Tom Auer <mthomasauer at gmail.com> wrote:

Birders,
>
> I talked to Joe Kaplan today, who spent over 5 hours waiting for the
> BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE. According to Joe, this bird is not for the impatient.
> He's spent over 15 hours waiting for this bird to appear briefly, missing
> once out of three tries because of restlessness. It is apparently quite wary
> and could be scared off easily from the carcass pile. If you go for this
> bird, park on the main road and walk in along the snowmobile trail/road to
> the powerline crossing, then conceal yourself with a sightline at the
> carcass pile and wait...for a few hours. It is suggested that observers get
> to the location very early, as latecomers could potentially flush the bird
> from visiting. Chairs and warm clothes are warranted.
>
> Good Luck!
> Tom Auer
>
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