My Favorite: My favorite Black-billed Magpie photos is also one of my favorite all-time photos. I had a work trip to Bozeman, Montana in January 2017, and I took two days of my own time to visit Yellowstone National Park. I'd never been there in the winter before, and it was...breathtaking. I took a snowcoach down to the Snow Lodge and stayed there one night, and also drove pretty much the only road you CAN drive in Yellowstone in winter, on the north edge of the park through to the Lamar Valley. It was extremely cold on this day...22 below according to the car. While entering the Lamar, there were three massive bull bison laying in the snow near the road, with great clouds of steam from their breathing. As I watched, a Black-billed Magpie flew in and landed on one of the Bison's heads! In the summer months, they'd do so to pick ticks and other pests off the Bison, but I'm not thinking ticks and insects are an issue when its 22 below! Perhaps he was just looking for a warm spot to rest.
All photos are copyrighted by Terry L. Sohl. Contact me for print options or questions about photo use.
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