Freedom Flies at Hagerman By Peyton Briones |
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Photo by Randall Patterson |
The ultimate sign of freedom and patriotism soars high and proud here at Hagerman. With its white head and tail, beautiful brown body and wings, and razor-sharp talons, the bald eagle is a great representative of our strong will and courage.
Photo by K.I.R.A.N Photography The beloved bald eagle first became the national bird back in 1782, when it was placed with outspread wings on the Great Seal of our country. For about six years, Congress held a dispute on what the national emblem should be. It wasn’t until 1789 that the bald eagle was chosen to represent the nation. One of the largest opponents to the bald eagle as America’s emblem was Benjamin Franklin. In a letter, Franklin wrote, “I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable bird and withal a true, original native of America.” Not all of Congress had common ground with Franklin’s views. Bald eagles, like other eagles worldwide, have been seen by many people as symbols of strength, courage, and freedom. Unlike other eagles, the bald eagle was | An Amazing Hagerman Wildlife Video Join Us For a Bluebird Monitoring Class Love Monarchs? Join the Research Team! Birding with Jack: The Weekly Bird Census Sponsor the Friends With a Membership The Refuge Rocks! Programs for Children Junior and Advanced Ranger Programs Tram Tours on the Wildlife Explorer! Gardening, Mowing and Work Crew Visitor Center Volunteers Needed! Subscribe to Our Monthly Featherless Flyer |
indigenous only to North America, which helped cement its place. Bald eagles are designated as sea eagles and therefore their diet mainly consists of fish as their primary food. However, they are opportunistic foragers and will eat sea birds and ducks or hunt over land for small mammals such as rabbits, squirrels, prairie dogs, and muskrats. Both the male and female build the nest, but the female chooses the nest tree. They are strongly territorial birds and will defend the nest territory which is usually several square miles, depending on habitat and the proximity of other eagles, especially during nesting season. |
Photo by Brian Clark | No pictures to show Photo by Mary Elford Hulshouser |
Battles over nesting habitats are quite common and can easily result in injury and even death. These birds can grow to be much larger than meets the eye. Adults measure from 30 to 40 inches from head to tail, with a 7-8 foot wingspan, and weigh from 8 to 14 pounds, though the female is larger than the male. Their nest can get up to 10 feet wide and 2,000 pounds.
During nesting season, females can lay 1 to 3 eggs (usually two) about 2 to 3 days apart. The young will stay in the nest for about 11 to 12 weeks when the adults will start encouraging them to fly. Eaglets can usually be seen exercising their wings on the nest or nearby for several days before fledging. The young will stay at or near the nest for another 6 weeks while the adults continue feeding them and teaching them to hunt and fish on their own.
Refuge staff and visitors started watching the bald eagle pair that nests here at Hagerman around 10 years ago, and due to bald eagles not fully maturing and gaining their iconic white head and breeding until adulthood, the experts believe that these birds are at least fifteen years of age. About the first time they built a nest, they were photographed by a popular photographer who spent a lot of time capturing the amazing sight and posting his photos to Facebook. He began referring to them as “Lucy” and “Ricky”, and before long, the names were adopted by the community. If you’re curious as to where you can spot these beautiful birds, staff and refuge volunteers in the visitor center will be happy to point out the best places. The female is very | Juvenile Bald Eagle by Laurie Sheppard |
Lucy on the Pole with Red-wings by Robert Chura | tolerant of people and if she's sitting on "her pole", she'll sit quietly and let people visit. The male is more private so you'll only see him from a distance. Late fall is a good time to find them. After they return to Hagerman and before they are tending eggs on the nest, you'll sometimes see them together. Later, you might see one or the other out fishing or taking a break from tending the nest or in spring after the eggs have hatched and the adults are trying to feed their young. Staff and volunteers often see some juveniles who fly over the refuge at any given time, and people might see other eagles from the Sandy Point Picnic Area. That's where a juvenile was released by the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center in the fall and the folks doing the weekly bird census have seen both adults and juveniles |
there recently. Always keep an eye on the sky - some of the birds flying around are not vultures but are Bald Eagles.
Nowadays, the bald eagle is protected under the National Emblem Act of 1940, The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, The Migratory Bird Treaty Act and The Lacey Act. Although once abundant throughout the US, their population greatly declined in the 1960s. Farmers and fishermen killed many eagles for getting too close to their poultry or fishing nets, gamekeepers took many for falconry, and pesticides, which interfered with their reproduction, were the cause of death for many bald eagles. President John F. Kennedy wrote to the Audubon Society, “The Founding Fathers made an appropriate choice when they selected the bald eagle as the emblem of the nation. The fierce beauty and proud independence of this great bird aptly symbolize the strength and freedom of America. But as latter-day citizens, we shall fail our trust if we permit the eagle to disappear.” From once being listed as endangered, the number of Bald Eagles has rebounded to an estimated 316,700 individual bald eagles nationwide in 2020, including 71,400 nesting pairs according to a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service report. Therefore having a nesting pair here at Hagerman makes them all the more special to us. |
Refuge Update: Though refuge lands are open from sunrise until sunset every day of the year, the Visitor Center is open Monday through Saturday 9-4, Sunday 1-5. It's a great time to visit the refuge! |
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Photos by Caleb Darling |
More Amazing Nature Photos taken at the refuge. |
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Upcoming Activities:
The Friends of Hagerman is Hosting 14 Family Friendly Events in January! |
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Wilson's Snipe by Richard Barnes Richard Barnes' 2023 Video Clips of Hagerman Wildlife on Youtube |
Monarch Research Team Needs Your Help! |
Photos by Laurie Sheppard It's winter and the Monarch butterflies that migrated through north Texas are settled in the pine and oyamel trees in the Sierra Madre mountains.They arrived a little late this year, reaching El Rosario a few days after Dia de los Muertos. Some stragglers were still seen in Grayson County in late November, and hopefully, they made it all the way to Mexico. Volunteers at Hagerman NWR conduct several surveys of migrating Monarchs each spring and fall as part of the Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program (IMMP) - a national program that documents milkweed, nectar plant, and monarch use data from various land-use types and regions. Information gathered at National Wildlife Refuges like Hagerman is an important part of the research shaping scientists' understanding of how monarchs interact with their environment and how the population and its habitat changes over time. As with many such projects, the IMMP at Hagerman is looking for additional volunteers willing to commit a few field hours during the spring and fall migrations of everyone's favorite butterfly. Training in how to document blooming plants, identify monarch eggs and larvae, and the structure of the surveys themselves will be held in early 2024. The monitoring team conducts surveys at three locations on the refuge, each a little different in dominant habitat. We walk in pairs over a marked grid pattern and identify the blooming plants at measured intervals. We also check each milkweed sprout or stem for the presence of monarch eggs or caterpillars and note every adult monarch we see. Surveys are conducted in late March through mid-May and in October through early November. Exact dates for the surveys are based on the availability of volunteers and a weather forecast that is favorable to monarch flight. If you think you might be interested in joining this fun and interesting project, register below and we'll be in touch. |
Birding with Jack: The Weekly Bird Census |
Left to Right: Mike Petrick, Nancy Riggs, Jack Chiles and Terry Goode Each Tuesday a team of experienced birders, including Master Naturalist Jack Chiles, traverse 35 miles of refuge roads and hiking trails, documenting every bird they encounter. This Bird Census is reported to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology for use in research, and each week we will bring you a link to their actual bird count, and a summary of their adventures.
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Tropical Kingbird | Wilson's Snipe |
There was a heavy frost and the temperature was in the mid twenties when we started out. It rained a lot at the refuge over the weekend and the lake level has also risen. The sandbar at the end of Plover is now almost completely submerged. Harris Creek trail from the entrance to the photo blind was very productive with a lot of Song Sparrows, some Spotted Towhees and a Loncoln's Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrows. Tufted Titmice were calling as well as Carolina Wrens. We went early on to Terry Lane in search of the Tropical Kingbird and the Say's Phoebe that was reported yesterday and did not find either species but Terry Goode, who does the census with us often did see it this morning in the same vicinity but neither of us saw the Say's Phoebe. If you want to see many white geese now is the time to visit the refuge. We did not get a good estimate today but there are probably at least 8,000 present. We saw 10 species of sparrows. Ducks are plentiful with counts of 176 Northern Shovelers, 290 Gadwalls, 5 American Wigeons, 10 Mallards, 626 Northern Pintails, 352 Green-winged Teals, 4 Ring-necked Ducks and 5 Buffleheads. The Buffleheads were in Steedman Marsh. There were more than 500 Ring-billed Gulls as well as a mature Bald Eagle off the end of Plover Pad. We saw only 1 Wilson's Snipe today but we counted 11 Greater Yellowlegs, and 99 Least Sandpipers. One White-faced Ibis and 1 Great Egret are still present and were near the low water crossing north of headquarters. We saw 135 Brewer's Blackbirds and 110 Brown-headed Cowbirds east of the cemetery. We saw over 200 Meadowlarks today including both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks. We did see a Brown Thrasher today, a species that has been scarce as of late. We finished the day with 81 species. Today's photos, The Tropical Kingbird that has been drawing so much attention, about to nab an insect and the lone Wilson's Snipe we saw today in the small wetland near the entrance to Wildlife Drive. I am hoping that each of you have a prosperous and happy New Year. Thanks to all of you that read my posts each week and for the many comments that I receive thanking me. |
See the rest of Jack's notes and the latest Bird Census Results |
The Friends of Hagerman NWR Photo Club |
Photo Club Meeting: Nature Photography by Russell Graves Saturday, January 20, 2024 in the Visitor Center
Join us for the January meeting of the Friends of Hagerman NWR Nature Photography Club. Russell Graves will give a presentation about his nature photography and adventures. Future Events: |
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Sponsor the Friends of Hagerman NWR with a Membership |
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Sponsors Enable the Friends to…
Join Today! Memberships available for $10 |
Join Cindy Steele for: The Refuge Rocks! Programs for Children |
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Complete a scavenger hunt, a leaf rubbing and identify a few common birds to become a Junior Ranger. At the end of the journey report back to the Visitor Center where you will be guided through the Junior Ranger Pledge and receive a merit of completion. Print a Hagerman-specific Junior Ranger Packet or Advanced Jr. Ranger Packet or pick one up in the Visitor Center. |
| The Junior Ranger Pledge As a Junior Ranger at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, I pledge to protect outdoor creatures small, big and huge. To keep the water, air and land clean. To make enjoying nature a routine. I will share my new skills with family and friends. When people and nature work together, everybody wins! |
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Register for a Tram Tour Today! |
Photo: Sunrise at the Little Sit by Laurie Sheppard Meet Jack and the Bird Census Team and learn how to identify the birds of North Texas while enjoying the beautiful sunrise over Lake Texoma! Modeled after Cornell's national "Big Sit" event, a group of dedicated birders invite you to join them at sunrise to conduct a bird count as multiple species fly to the water and the surrounding land to feed. Leaders will bring spotting scopes and will provide tips for identification of the many species you will see. This event lasts a couple of hours, but all are welcome to come and go as they please. Participants are advised to bring a chair, binoculars and water. The First Saturday of every month, beginning 30 minutes before sunrise. |
Location: H Pad, Sadler, Texas 76264 (H Pad is in Sadler, but it is part of the refuge) GPS Coordinates: 33.734961, -96.780582
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Early Bird Walk with Jack Chiles |
Master Naturalist Jack Chiles will lead our Early Birding event, weather permitting. Bring binoculars or borrow ours. Meet at the Visitor Center and return in time for the Second Saturday program. |
Please Register (Optional) so we may inform you via email of unforseen changes/cancellations.
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Second Saturday: The Eastern Bluebird With Kathy Whaley
Saturday, January 13th at 10:00 AM in the Visitor Center |
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Photo by Chris Balsamo Don't miss this informative presentation by our own Refuge Manager, Kathy Whaley. Arrive early--this session fills up every year. Future Second Saturday Programs |
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Do You Like to Work Outside? The Refuge Needs You! |
It takes a lot of people to have a beautiful garden! The Wednesday Garden Team Love to work with native plants and meet other gardeners? Come and help us add plants, weed and mulch our beautiful butterfly garden. Garden Team volunteers get first dibs on thinned native plants as well as access to seeds and cuttings for propagation. Gardeners meet on most Wednesdays, but times vary. Contact Us to subscribe to the volunteer garden team weekly email. Provide own tools and gloves. Minimum age 18, or 16 if accompanied by parent/volunteer. |
Mowing and Refuge Beautification: The Work Crew Do you enjoy working outside, mowing, sprucing up hiking trails, trimming and removing brush and general cleanup? Show your love for nature by joining the Outdoor Crew at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. Outdoor Crew volunteers meet on the First Tuesday and Fourth Saturday of every month. Contact Us for exact times, dates and other details about joining the volunteer Work Crew. Scouts welcome! |
Visitor Center Volunteers Needed! |
Do you enjoy meeting all kinds of people from all over the world, and like-minded people in our area? If yes, consider joining our team of Visitor Center Volunteers. You will greet refuge guests, distribute maps and other refuge information, and make sales in the gift shop. Shifts available every day of the week: Monday through Saturday 9 AM to 12:30 PM and 12:30 to 4:00 PM, Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 PM. Training is provided. Contact Us if interested. |
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| Thank You To Our Contributors: Peyton Briones, Jack Chiles, Cindy Steele, Laurie Sheppard, Chris Balsamo, Caleb Darling, Mary Elford Hulshouser, Robert Chura, Randall Patterson, K.I.R.A.N Photography Refuge Manager: Kathy Whaley Deputy Refuge Manager: Paul Balkenbush Visitor Services Manager: Spencer Beard Editors: Patricia Crain, Laurie SheppardFriends of Hagerman NWR Foundation 6465 Refuge Road, Sherman, TX 75092 Phone: 903-786-2826 Join us on Facebook: |
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6465 Refuge Road Sherman, TX 75092
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Kroger: Stop by the customer service desk at Kroger and link your Kroger Card to the Friends of Hagerman: the Friends will get rewards for every dollar you spend, at no cost to you.
Please add info@friendsofhagerman.org to your contacts to ensure delivery of registration confirmations, account information and the Featherless Flyer
See you at the refuge!