I arrived before dawn … the ground fog was not too intense … and shortly after sunrise I photographed this “Great Gray’ in flight! 

Oh … you thought I meant the other Great Gray?! I still like the old name for this bird, or Whiskey Jack. Some folks may now insist on calling it a Canada Jay. If was fun watching a family of Gray Jays forage for breakfast till this Sharp-Shinned Hawk arrived on the scene. The birds near the South Logging Road then made themselves scarce (by the way … I did not see the triplets).

By this point the sun had been up for about an hour and I decided to shift my approach … exited the Bog to the farmland just south of the Welcome Center. I struck paydirt with Black-Billed Magpies. While this bird is common in the west, it is somewhat rare in northeastern Minnesota. I had a grand time watching well over 12+ magpies feed.