Friends of Hagerman NWR upcoming events

Initial Results of Bat Monitoring on Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and around Grayson County, Texas (May 09, 2026)

Sat, 09 May 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Initial Results of Bat Monitoring on Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and around Grayson County, Texas

With Bryon Clark and Margaret Avard

The Friends of Hagerman (FoH) National Wildlife Refuge was awarded the O’Brien Prize by the National Wildlife Refuge Association in July 2025 for their application titled “Music of the Night: Citizen Science Bioacoustic Bat Monitoring at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.”

The primary goal of this project is to help address key gaps in understanding local bat species and their distribution on the refuge and in Grayson County, Texas. Such information may then be used to inform refuge management decisions and contribute to broader conservation efforts for bats across the region.

Another major goal of the project is public engagement. Through hands-on educational programs and citizen science opportunities, this initiative aims to inspire both youth and adults to learn more about these often-misunderstood mammals and, hopefully, become bat advocates.

Bryon Clark and Margaret Avard serve as the project leaders and will provide an update on this initiative, discuss challenges encountered, and share preliminary results from acoustic bat monitoring conducted on the refuge and throughout Grayson County, Texas. To date, analysis of the acoustic data suggests the probable presence of at least eight bat species across area.

Bryon Clark and Margaret Avard are both nature enthusiasts and live southeast of Sherman, Texas. Their son, Gerald, is a master’s student at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California Santa Barbara. After retiring from Southeastern Oklahoma State, both have become active members of the Friends of Hagerman NWR and are certified Texas Master Naturalists. Dr. Avard served as a Professor of Earth, Space, and Environmental Sciences and Dr. Clark was a Professor of Biological Sciences before moving to administration and retiring as the Interim President of the University.

Bryon has been interested in bats for almost 5o years and completed his master’s thesis and a post-doctoral experience on bat ecology. Margaret developed her interest in bats through the Texas Master Naturalists and listening to Bryon’s presentations. Together, they enjoy camping and often take their personal bat detectors along to record bat calls; needless to say, this activity has sparked some interesting comments from other campers. They have conducted acoustic bat monitoring in Texas, Iowa, West Virginia, Nevada, Utah, and California.

The O’Brien Prize awarded by the National Association of Wildlife Refuges has expanded opportunities for Bryon and Margaret to share their enthusiasm for bats with others. As project leaders for the Bat Monitoring Project at Hagerman, they hope to recruit others to become interested in bats and assist with bat monitoring efforts on the refuge and their own property. Bats play a critical role in the environment, and these collective efforts will help promote a greater understanding of this remarkable group of mammals.

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.

Special Event: Bird Festival! (May 16, 2026)

Sat, 16 May 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Schedule for the Day:

8:00 to 9:30	Early Bird Walk Visitor Center parking lot
10:00 to 11:00	Refuge Rocks - Birds! Ages 5-10, Reservations Required
10:00 to 11:00	Tram Tour (Reservations Required)
11:00 to 12:00	Lecture: *What Exactly is a Bird* with Dr. Bryon Clark, Vertebrate Ecologist
11:00 to 2:00	Ice Hole Food Truck (carport)
11:00 - 2:00	Book Signing: Sam Crowe - Birds of North America
12:00 to 12:30	Master Storytelling with Doris Haynie (VC Patio)
12:00 to 1:00	Tram Tour (Reservations Required)
12:30 to 1:30	Lecture: Birds are Amazing Flying Dinosaurs with Dr. Tom Stidham, Evolutionay Biologist and Paleontologist
1:00 to 3:00	Butterfly Garden Walk
1:00 to 3:00	Children's Activities & Puddles Skins and Skulls of Mammals & Bats ( Pavilion)
2:00 to 3:00	Lecture: Where are All the Birds Going - Current Trends in Population Size with Dr. Wayne Meyer, Ornithologist
2:00 to 3:00	Tram Tour (Reservations Required)

What Exactly is a Bird? with Dr. Bryon Clark (May 16, 2026)

Sat, 16 May 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Although birds display a remarkable diversity of colors, shapes, sizes and behaviors, they share a set of defining characteristics that distinguish them from other animals. This presentation will explore several key adaptations, such as feathers, beaks, lightweight skeletal structures, and, in most species, the ability to fly, that enable birds to inhabit almost every environment on the earth’s surface. From Antarctica to your own backyard, you are likely to encounter several of the more than 11,000 species of birds found worldwide. This presentation will also provide a few simple and practical tips on how to identify the birds you see.

Bryon has been a nature enthusiast since growing up on the family farm in southern Iowa. He has a B.A. in Biology from Central College (Iowa), an M.S. in Biology from Western Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in Biology from Kansas State University. From 1990 until his retirement in 2020, Dr. Clark served as a Professor of Biological Sciences and later as an administrator at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Although trained as a mammalian ecologist, Bryon has developed a keen interest in the natural history and ecology of birds. Since retiring, he enjoys photographing birds and other wildlife, traveling, and volunteering with the Friends of Hagerman, Texas Master Naturalists, and Texoma Audubon Society.

Bryon and his spouse, Margaret Avard, live southeast of Sherman, Texas. Their son, Gerald, is a master’s student at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California Santa Barbara. A shared enthusiasm for nature runs in the family, and their vacations are always adventures.

Photo by Bryon Clark

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.

Birds Are Amazing Flying Dinosaurs with Dr. Thomas Stidham (May 16, 2026)

Sat, 16 May 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Dr. Thomas Stidham will talk about some of the different lines of evidence from anatomy, behavior, and the fossil record that demonstrates that birds are very diverse living dinosaurs.

Dr. Thomas Stidham is an evolutionary biologist and paleontologist who is fascinated by bird biology and evolution from their dinosaurian origins to today. During his career as a professor at Texas A&M University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and now Austin College, he has published scientific research on birds from the Arctic to the Antarctic. In addition to his main work on birds, Tom’s broad natural history perspective also has resulted in research publications on insects, mammals, reptiles, plants, and much more, including the discovery of new species in Texas and elsewhere. As a professor at Austin College, Dr. Stidham engages an active student body in exciting biology courses, mentors students in independent research projects in his lab, and continues his scientific collaborations around the globe.

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.

Where are All the Birds Going - Current Trends in Population Size with Dr. Wayne Meyer, Ornithologist (May 16, 2026)

Sat, 16 May 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Birds are a familiar and cherished part of life at the refuge—but many species are becoming harder to find. This Second Saturday program will explore current trends in bird populations and examine why changes are happening.

Dr. Wayne Meyer, an ornithologist, began birding at the age of 13 in Connecticut. He has birded extensively on both coasts of the United States and has spent the past quarter century birding in Texas and Oklahoma. Dr. Meyer has conducted extensive research on prairie birds and has been studying song learning and vocal development in Painted Buntings for more than a decade. He is a sought-after speaker for Master Naturalist groups and a frequent presenter at the Friends of Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge Second Saturday programs.

Photo by Adam Graham

Lake Texoma: A 4D view of Lake Ecology with Dr. Tim Patton (June 13, 2026)

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 16:00:00 GMT

This presentation will provide a broad overview of lake ecology. We’ll place emphasis on Lake Texoma, but it will be applicable to lakes in general. We’ll start outside of the lake with topics such as watershed and lake basin characteristics. Then we’ll take a deep dive (pun intended) to look at factors such as light, heat (including lake “turnover”), carbon, and oxygen, and how these come together to shape food webs. We’ll also discuss how these factors change in space and time, that is, how they vary depending upon where you are in the lake profile and what time of year, or even what time of day it happens to be. There’s a lot going on down there!

Tim Patton is a Professor Emeritus (which is a fancy way of saying retired professor) at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, where he worked for 26 years. He is a native of Arkansas and completed his Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife Management at Arkansas Tech University. He went on to obtain a Master’s and then a Ph.D. in Zoology and Physiology from The University of Wyoming, then worked as a research scientist for the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit before becoming a professor at Southeastern in 1998. He was also an adjunct faculty at the University of Oklahoma and taught reservoir ecology at the OU Biological research Station. His career research has focused on various aspects of aquatic ecology and vertebrate ectotherms including fish, amphibians, and reptiles. His most recent and current research has focused alligators in the wetlands of southeastern Oklahoma.

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.

But, Can You Eat It? with Karen Glenn (July 11, 2026)

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 16:00:00 GMT

This talk will be centered around some of our local native “weeds” that are not only edible, but full of nutrition and (possibly) medicinal benefits! For thousands of years before modern farming, most people knew what local plants were safe to eat, useful for materials, and helpful when illness or injury happened. We have lost a lot of this knowledge as we have become dependent on more modern conveniences. We will look at a few local weeds with hidden benefits. Our focus will be on how to recognize them, when and how to harvest them, and how to properly prepare them for food and home remedies.

Grayson County has been Karen Glenn’s home, off and on, since 1972. She has witnessed many changes in the area as the impacts of development change the native flora and fauna in North Texas. Since moving back home in 2000, Karen has taken part in numerous research projects at the University of Oklahoma Biological Station on Lake Texoma, taught chemistry courses at several local colleges and universities, volunteered at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, and, in 2017, joined the Texas Master Naturalist program. She and her son live on a small acreage in Gordonville, where they are working to restore the native habitat, which is rapidly disappearing due to development in the area. Her property has become her laboratory, and she looks forward to enjoying nature full time after retirement!

Photo by Pam Rendall-Bass

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.

Birds Are Amazing Flying Dinosaurs with Dr. Thomas Stidham (August 08, 2026)

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Dr. Thomas Stidham will talk about some of the different lines of evidence from anatomy, behavior, and the fossil record that demonstrates that birds are very diverse living dinosaurs.

Note: This is a repeat of the Bird Festival presentation on May 16, 2026.

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.

Native Orchids in Your Neighborhood with Carol Clark (September 12, 2026)

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Did you know North Central Texas has wild native orchids? Some are more common than you think. This program explores the Ladies' Tresses (Spiranthes genus) of native orchids and all their associated weirdness, and touches on some of the beautiful rarer orchids in North Texas and an invasive orchid making its way across Texas. We'll give you tips for spotting and IDing them near you. A cheat sheet for identifying the local Spiranthes species is included.

Carol Clark is an amateur botany enthusiast, a Texas Master Naturalist, a longtime member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and is a Conservation Specialist with Monarch Watch.

She also co-administrates the Texas Native Bee Co-op Facebook page, and chairs the Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas committee. She and her husband own and operate Clark Haven Farm, a wildlife preserve and custom wildflower seed business in Cooke County.

Carol grew up with a nature photographer father and wildlife artist brother, and has spent much of her life looking around and learning in the great outdoors. Her favorite things to do are leading discovery walks in local natural areas, and finding and photographing interesting plants and insects.

Sparrows with Dr. Wayne Meyer (October 10, 2026)

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Sparrows are some of the most common birds seen around the refuge, yet they’re often the most puzzling to identify. This Second Saturday program will explore the sparrow species found in North Texas, including those that call the refuge home year-round as well as winter visitors passing through. Learn simple, practical tips for telling sparrows apart by habitat, behavior, and subtle field marks, and discover where to look for them along refuge trails and fields. Perfect for curious beginners and experienced birders alike, this talk will help you see these small, secretive birds in a whole new way on your next walk through the refuge.

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 Brenda Kay Edwards

Second Saturday: Eternal Bois d’Arc: Dinosaurs tempered It, Caddo Nation Tamed It and America Built On It (November 14, 2026)

Sat, 14 Nov 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Columbian mammoths—reaching up to 9 tons—and giant ground sloths, weighing around 2 tons, once fed on the fruit of the Bois d’Arc tree. As these bus-sized animals climbed, pushed, and broke branches to reach the fruit, the tree adapted to survive immense pressure. Today, Bois d’Arc is one of the strongest, most elastic, and most rot-resistant woods in North America—a legacy of evolving alongside these prehistoric giants.

The natural range of Bois d’Arc shrank dramatically during the advancing ice age. After the ice retreated, the tree found a refuge in the Red River Valley of present-day Texas and Oklahoma. There, the Caddo Nation developed a thriving trade network, exchanging Bois d’Arc wood—especially prized for bows—across vast distances, reaching as far as the Great Lakes region. These bows were so valuable that they were often worth more than a horse.

As settlers moved into North Texas, they encountered dense groves of Bois d’Arc along creeks and rivers, sometimes making passage difficult. Wagon makers in towns like Bonham quickly recognized the value of this durable wood, crafting long-lasting wagons from it. During the hedge-planting boom of the 1850s, Bois d’Arc seeds became extremely valuable—at times even compared to gold by weight—because the trees were widely used for living fences.

With the arrival of barbed wire, Bois d’Arc became the preferred material for fence posts due to its remarkable resistance to rot. It played a key role in shaping agriculture and settlement across the region. For decades, its wood was also used in structural supports for buildings throughout Texas.

Bois d’Arc—known scientifically as Maclura pomifera—continues to attract interest today. Its oils contain powerful antioxidants, and researchers are studying its potential benefits for health and medicine.

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.

Herpetology with Dr. Michael Keck (December 12, 2026)

Sat, 12 Dec 2026 16:00:00 GMT

North Texas is home to a surprising diversity of reptiles and amphibians, from secretive salamanders and chorus frogs to iconic Texas snakes and lizards. In this talk, a PhD-trained quantitative biologist will explore the fascinating world of herpetology—the study of reptiles and amphibians.

Michael Keck grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. He received his Ph.D. in Quantitative Biology from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he studied snake ecology and physiology. He has been a biology professor at Grayson College since 2001. He lives with his wife, Trish, and their dogs in Savoy, Texas.

Photo by Chelsi Stapleton

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.