I apologize for the belated posting, but I didn't hear about these sightings until the end of the day Friday and we had a long weekend....
On Thursday and Friday last week (1/12 and 1/13) a member of our staff and a volunteer had several sightings of gray partridge on or near Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs). In Stevens County, one covey (3 birds) was seen on Miller WPA between Morris and Donnelly and one covey (7 birds) on Fish Lake WPA west of Donnelly. In Big Stone County, there were two coveys on Seidl WPA (12 and 7 birds) southwest of Graceville, and one on Centennial WPA (6 birds) east of Clinton. Most coveys were using food plots on the WPAs, though some were on roadsides adjacent to the unit. Although I haven't been there recently, I have also seen partridge on Rothi WPA in Big Stone County a few times. For county maps showing these sites, as well as aerial photographs of each WPA, please visit our website <http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Morris/> click on maps, then the county name. From there you can choose a map showing all WPAs in the county (hold your pointer over a WPA to see its name) or you can choose an aerial photo with the WPA boundary. Also on Friday, the same staff member saw two snowy owls in Stevens County. One was near the intersection of Co Rds 8 and 7 (two miles west of Hwy 59, south of Morris). The other was on Co Rd 8 just east of the Big Stone County line. Feel free to contact me with questions. Sara Vacek Wildlife Biologist USFWS -- Morris Wetland Management District 43875 230th St. Morris, MN 56267 320-589-4973
