I slept in this morning to try to shake my sickness. Didn't work. Morning was overcast and foggy, so I wouldn't have made any big expeditions anyhow. I set out without a real plan, and ended up at Minnesota Valley NWR. Lyndale Avenue first, then Bass Ponds. Weather improved nicely in the afternoon. Predictably, I saw lots of common birds. The most exciting part was trying to get better photos of American tree sparrows. At one point there was a very loud bird on the opposite bank of the river, and I was frustrated by not even being able to see a silhouette of it. Saw my first muskrats of the trip on the river.