Take a Tour on the Wildlife Explorer!

Come join us for a ride on the Wildlife Explorer! Our new and beautiful tram is available for ninety-minute tours of Hagerman every weekend, weather permitting. Our tours are as varied as our drivers. Each tram driver has her/his approach to the tour: you may learn about wildlife, birds, habitat, refuge history, photography, you name it! To paraphrase, “a Wildlife Explorer tour at Hagerman is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” But you know it’s going to be good! Come see us! Lots of stops for bird-watching and photography.

• Weather permitting, seating is limited. 
• Bring binoculars or borrow ours.
  
• Standbys accepted if space permits. 
• Ages 6 and above.
• Meet at the visitor center 15 minutes before departure. 

Free, open to the public, Donations are accepted to support all events and programs sponsored by the Friends of Hagerman NWR.

Join us with membership today to receive the monthly Featherless Flyer newsletter with nature articles, program information, updated events and other important refuge information!

Take a Tour on the Wildlife Explorer!

Come join us for a ride on the Wildlife Explorer! Our new and beautiful tram is available for ninety-minute tours of Hagerman every weekend, weather permitting. Our tours are as varied as our drivers. Each tram driver has her/his approach to the tour: you may learn about wildlife, birds, habitat, refuge history, photography, you name it! To paraphrase, “a Wildlife Explorer tour at Hagerman is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” But you know it’s going to be good! Come see us! Lots of stops for bird-watching and photography.

• Weather permitting, seating is limited. 
• Bring binoculars or borrow ours.
  
• Standbys accepted if space permits. 
• Ages 6 and above.
• Meet at the visitor center 15 minutes before departure. 

Free, open to the public, Donations are accepted to support all events and programs sponsored by the Friends of Hagerman NWR.

Join us with membership today to receive the monthly Featherless Flyer newsletter with nature articles, program information, updated events and other important refuge information!

Pollination is the essential transfer of pollen from one flower part to another, enabling the survival of the plant species and its ability to reproduce, create seeds, and produce fruit. Pollinators of many types are critical for maintaining global ecosystems and food security. They are instrumental in the reproduction of 75% of flowering plants and 35% of food crops. Protecting pollinators is crucial for maintaining the diversity, beauty, and abundance of our food supply and natural landscapes. Laurie will describe the different types of pollination and many of the pollinators you may see on the refuge.

Laurie Sheppard is a certified Texas Master Naturalist with a primary interest in butterflies. She has tracked, photographed, and documented 97 butterfly species at Hagerman NWR of the 101 species of butterflies recorded in Grayson County. She leads a group of volunteers who provide Monarch migration data to Journey North each year and she was responsible for locating and reporting on several sub-populations of “at risk” Frosted Elfin butterflies at Hagerman.

Laurie is a long-time volunteer at Hagerman NWR, currently serving as a Butterfly Garden Docent, a Tram Driver, a Nature Nook staffer, a writer/editor for the Featherless Flyer, and a member of the Friends of Hagerman Board of Directors. She is an avid photographer and regularly shares her images of butterflies, birds, and other wildlife on social media and in the Friends of Hagerman’s public outreach materials.

Registration is not necessary—all are welcome! But if any of these programs spark your curiosity, signing up will get you a friendly reminder three days beforehand. You’ll also receive our once-a-month Featherless Flyer newsletter—no email overload, and it’s easy to unsubscribe anytime.

Photo by Laurie Sheppard

Do you love butterflies and native plants, like to learn new things, enjoy being outdoors and meeting new people, and like helping others learn?  Then consider joining the Hagerman Butterfly Garden Docent Program!

• Learn about all things butterflies.
• Learn to identify the most common species seen in our area.
• Learn about monarch tagging and the plight of the monarch butterflies.
• Learn about native plants for feeding and breeding.
• Host Garden Walks and help visitors learn how to create their own butterfly gardens.
• Attend training and monthly educational meetings April through October (some Saturday and some weekday meetings).
• Sign up to host regularly scheduled Garden Walks and/or special walks during Spring Fest and during National Wildlife Refuge Week.

• Have fun!

For more information contact:

Kim Tingle

Texas Master Naturalist

HNWR Butterfly Garden Docent Program Chair

info@friendsofhagerman.org

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. You may have noticed the large number of Monarchs that came through Grayson and Collin Counties in late October. It was an unusually good year for us.

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.

The Monarch Monitoring team conducts surveys at two locations on the refuge, each with a different 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. Three surveys are conducted at each site on weekdays in late March through mid-May and two in October through early November.

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 and identify Monarch eggs and larvae, as well as the structure of the surveys themselves will be held before the first survey. Exact dates for the surveys are determined based on the availability of volunteers and a weather forecast that is favorable to monarch flight.

Please register here for more information about how you can join the Monarch Monitoring Team.

Photo by Laurie Sheppard

Nature’Ology Day Camp June 6, 2026

For Children 11 or 12 Years Old

A full day of learning all about nature: fossils, prairies, spiders, birds, snakes and water cycles! Make a terrarium, enjoy a nature craft and meet other young nature enthusiasts!

This program has become so popular, that it fills up very quickly. By opting into this mailing list, you will receive an email with a link to apply for a confirmed reservation before reservations open to the general public in the spring of 2026.