[mou] Black-billed Magpie - Caste Danger, Lake Co.

[Jim Lind]

This morning I got a report of a big black bird with white wings and 
a long tail seen yesterday at the Castle Danger landfill.  Sharon and 
I just got back from checking it out, and sure enough there was a 
Black-billed Magpie feeding on deer carcasses with a bunch of Common 
Ravens and Bald Eagles.  

To reach the landfill, go northeast from the Two Harbors on Highway 
61 until you reach County Road 106, just west of the Rustic Inn.  Go 
about 0.75 miles west on CR 106 until you reach the road to the 
landfill on your right.  Continue up this road for about a mile until 
you reach the large landfill.  A road curves to the east and dead 
ends at the sewage ponds.  Right before the ponds is a small flat 
spot in the piles of rocks where the highway department disposes of 
roadkilled deer.  This is where the birds were.  The dump is no 
longer active except for a composting area and appliance disposal 
(i.e. no gulls), but it's a good place for open county birds and 
scavengers.

Jim Lind
Two Harbors