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8:00 Until Sold Out: Native Plant Sale 8:00 - 9:30 Early Bird Walk 10:00 Second Saturday: Buzz Off! 10:00 Tram Tour (Reservations Required) 10:00 Until 2:00 The Ice Hole Food Truck: Serving pulled pork, hot dogs and chips 10:00 Until 4:00 Crafts by Cindy Steele, at the pavilion, a come-and-go activity 11:00 Until !2:30 View the Annular Solar Eclipse 11:30 Nature Hike Adventure, 12:00 Tram Tour (Reservations Required) 12:00 Grand Opening of the Environmental Education Park at the Pavilion 12:15 Butterfly Garden Walk and Monarch Tagging 1:00 Spiders! In the Visitor Center 2:00 Tram Tour (Reservations Required) 2:15 Mammals by Dr. Bryon Clark in the Visitor Center 3:15 Snakes! In the Visitor Center | The Friends of Hagerman Online Auction 9 AM October 12th through 5 PM October 14th This is the time of the year that we invite the public to support our local Refuge and its programs. Projects resulting in our beautiful Butterfly Garden, our popular Wildlife Explorer electric tram, the new public restroom, and the Environmental Education Park are available, thanks in large part to donations and financial support. All monies raised from the auction will be reinvested in educational opportunities and programs for both children and adults. Auction items Include:
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8:00 Until Sold Out: Native Plant Sale
Saturday October 14th, In the Carport of the Visitor Center Parking Lot
During the Refuge Roundup, the volunteers from the Hagerman Butterfly Garden will conduct a plant sale from 8 AM to Noon (or until we sell out). The plants were thinned from the Hagerman Butterfly Garden and the volunteers' home gardens. The plants for sale are primarily native plants that are food or host plants for pollinator insects. A few non-native pollinator plants are included.
A partial lists of plants for sale are:
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Proceeds from the sale go to promote Friends of Hagerman activities. Most popular plants typically sell out out quickly so come early! |
8:00 AM Early Bird Walk with Jack Chiles October 14th, Meet at the Visitor Center |
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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Photo by Jack Chiles |
10:00, 12:00 and 2:00: Come, Take a Tour on the Wildlife Explorer! Extra Tram Tours for Refuge Roundup on October 14th*, Meet at the Visitor Center Enjoy a tram tour of Wildlife Drive aboard our open-air Wildlife Explorer. Learn about the fascinating history of the displaced town of Hagerman while watching for an abundance of wildlife. *Additional times listed below |
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10:00 Buzz Off! Exploring Mosquito Ecology and Control Strategies with Loriann Garcia Saturday, October 14th, in the Visitor Center |
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11:00 Until 12:30: View the Annular Solar Eclipse |
Come to the refuge to view the annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023 during the Refuge Roundup! The Bluestem Master Naturalists will have a telescope set up for viewing from 11:00 AM until 12:30 PM in the Visitor Center Parking Lot.
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Join us for a nature hike on Harris Creek Trail. We'll walk from the Visitor Center and search for creatures large and small! Photo by Laurie Sheppard |
12:15 Butterfly Garden Walk with Butterfly Tagging
Saturday, October 14th in the Butterfly Garden
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Enjoy a stroll through the 1/4 acre Butterfly Garden at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. Garden docents will be on hand to help you identify the Texas native plants and the butterflies in the garden. Come on your own or bring the family. Use our close-focus butterfly binoculars to get a really CLOSE look. Special activities for families available: scavenger hunts, meet the Metamorphosis Puppet and more. Garden walks are Come and Go or Come and Stay. The garden is free of charge and open to the public during Refuge hours. During Refuge Roundup on October 14th, observe the experts catch and tag Monarch Butterflies, then release them back into the wild. Kids may get to see the monarchs close up and some may get a chance to let it touch them before it takes off. |
Registration is not necessary
Pipevine Swallowtail (right) by Laurie Sheppard |
Meet Jasper Birdd--a real Spider Man--and learn all about his extensive collection of live spiders. |
SNAKES! Saturday, October 14th in the Visitor Center Meet Jordan Foster, a local snake expert and learn about his collection of live snakes. You might even get to hold one--though not the venomous ones! |
Refuge Update: The Visitor Center is open Monday through Saturday 9-4, Sunday 1-5. The American White Pelicans are migrating through, and it's a great time to visit the refuge! |
Upcoming Activities:
The Friends of Hagerman is Hosting 23 Family Friendly Events in October! |
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Were YOU There? All are welcome as a participant or a volunteer--A fun time is had by all! |
Refuge Beautification | Refuge Rocks! with Cindy Steele |
Majestic American White Pelicans Pay Visit to the Refuge By Linda Richmond |
Photo by Jack Chiles
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Photo by Chris Sanders | White pelicans have long necks and massive bills. Their webbed feet make for water-ski landings and strong swimming. The species is perhaps best known for the expandable pouch on their bill, which can hold up to 3 gallons of water. They use it to scoop fish from the water. Once they catch a fish, the birds lift their heads to drain the water out the sides before swallowing their catch. What’s the best way to view them? “The birds are very tolerant of people most of the time,” Chiles said. “Of course, anytime that you visit the refuge, your best blind is your car. Birds don’t pay much attention to anybody in a car, but once you get out, they’re more cautious.” |
White pelicans eat mostly small to midsized schooling fish in Lake Texoma, such as shad or bass. However, they have been filmed scooping up fish as large as their bill, which they must then wrangle to swallow, often still wriggling. They are opportunistic feeders, and may also eat other creatures such as salamanders, crayfish, turtles, or tadpoles or whatever is available. |
Unlike the brown pelican, this species never plunge-dives from the air. Rather, white pelicans may be seen working cooperatively, forming a circle or a tight line on the water’s surface, beating their wings to drive schools of fish toward shore. Once the fish are forced into shallow water, the birds make easy work of scooping up their dinner. If another bird’s catch looks tasty, the white pelican is not |
Photo by Win Goddard |
Photo by Chris Sanders
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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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American Avocet | Broad-winged Hawk |
It was a still morning as we ventured out to do today's census. We walked to the photo blind on Harris Creek Trail at the start and it was very quiet. We did see a couple of American Kestrels there. We then proceeded to the Goode Area and saw a Brown Thrasher and a Common Yellowthroat on the way there. At Dead Woman Pond we saw a Belted Kingfisher. We continued on past Dead Woman Pond and saw the first of three Broad-winged Hawks for the day. I don't remember ever seeing as many as three Broad-winged Hawks in one day at the refuge. Later as we went down Wildlife Drive we saw White-faced Ibis and we finished the day with a count of 165 for that species, down quite a bit from the large numbers of Ibis we have been seeing. Shorebird numbers were also way down from what we have been seeing for the last month, but we did manage to get 12 shorebird species including a Sanderling. Early in the day there were more than 750 American White Pelicans that had overnighted on the sandbar at the end of Plover pad but many of them left when the thermals developed around 10 a.m.. We had the first Northern Flickers of the season. A Tricolored Heron is still present in the vicinity of the Harris Creek Bridge. One of the best sightings of the day was an Ovenbird past Meadow Pond near the railroad tracks. That is only the third Ovenbird I have ever seen on the refuge. We finished the day with 59 species. Today's photos, American Avocet and Broad-winged Hawk. |
See the rest of Jack's notes and the latest Bird Census Results |
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| 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! |
The Photo Club: Photo Shoot in the Butterfly Garden October 7, 2023 at 1:00 PM |
Join us for an afternoon in the Butterfly Garden for a photo shoot at Hagerman NWR. We will be shooting in the butterfly garden as well as the garden in front of the visitor center. Bring any of your other butterfly shots that need to be identified and we can help with that as well. This event is limited to FOHNWR Nature Photography Club members only. Registration is not required. Click here to become a member of Friends of Hagerman and select a membership with Photo Club. This shoot is weather permitting so please check back within 48 hours of the event for updates. For details and registration, please click the link below: |
Plant of the Month: Fall Aster by Shawn Stone |
In Fall we find that the plentitude of spring and summer blooms starts to slow down, resulting in bare spots in the garden as well as less nectar options for butterflies and other pollinators. One plant that helps fill this gap is the Fall Aster which waits until October – November to burst out with its blooms. This is a great native alternative to planting chrysanthemums for fall color and are more reliable in our Texas soils. Fall Aster is also known as Aromatic Aster, Aromatic American Aster, Wild Blue Aster, or Shale Aster is native to Texas and can be planted throughout the state. It grows in full sun or partial shade and forms a mounded plant between 2-3 feet in height. It is drought tolerant and needs little water or fertilizer once established. Native asters generally need little care. They will die back after the first frost and will need to be cut back to the ground in late winter/early spring. The “aromatic” portion of one of its many names comes from the smell of the leaves when crushed vs the flowers. There are several native Texas varieties – Heath Aster and Willow Leaf Aster which are both white, and Texas Aster in the lavender/purple color. In garden centers that carry native plants, you can usually find asters starting around September. Several native species of aster serve as a host/larval food plant for the Pearl Crescent butterfly but butterflies and bees in general will flock to asters in the fall when other food sources are no longer blooming. For more information, visit: Wildflower.org or Neilsperry.com Photos from Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Neil Sperry, and Austin Native Landscaping. |
Join Us With a Membership |
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Dues From Memberships Enable the Friends to…
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The "Big" Little Sit Sunrise Bird Count |
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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| Sunrise at the Little Sit Photo taken by Laurie Sheppard |
Join Cindy Steele for: The Refuge Rocks! Programs for Children |
There will be no Refuge Rocks program in December |
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: Jack Chiles, Cindy Steele, Linda Richmond, Chris Sanders, Win Goddard 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: |
Search for any word--do not use quotes for phrases |
6465 Refuge Road Sherman, TX 75092 friendsofhagerman@gmail.com
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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 friendsofhagerman@gmail.com to your contacts to ensure delivery of registration confirmations, account information and the Featherless Flyer
See you at the refuge!