FRIENDS OF HAGERMAN NWR

FEATHERLESS FLYER SEPTEMBER, 2018

VOLUME 14, ISSUE 9

OUR THIRTEENTH YEAR

Refuge Update:

For September 1-30, dove, rabbit and squirrel hunting will be

allowed in the Big Mineral Unit, though it will remain open to

the general public. A "Notice-Hunt in Progress" sign will be

placed at the Meadow Pond Trail head and at Keys Road.

Lake Texoma Water Level on 8/31: 616.67 (-0.33) Link

WHAT’S GOING ON??

See our NEW and

DETAILED, PRINTABLE

Event Sheet, Butterfly & Bird

Census on the last pages!

A Lifetime of Sharing the Joy of Nature

Dr. Carlos Araoz, long-

time HNWR supporter, recently

donated a charming collection of

bird figurines to the Friends of

Hagerman. The collection be-

longed to his late wife, Eulalia.

Avid birders, Carlos and Eulalia

delighted in time spent together

at Hagerman National Wildlife

Refuge. Carlos, a native of Ar-

gentina, received his training as a pathologist in New York. He

and Eulalia then moved to Arkansas, which was their home

base for 35 years. Their years of travel together gave Eulalia

the opportunity to build her bird collection, gathering figurines

from settings as diverse as Guatemala, Germany, Oregon,

Argentina and Mexico, as well as from nearby locales such as

Arkansas and New Mexico. Their travels were always an ad-

venture, following the road and a birding travel guide to discov-

er birding “hot spots” around the country.

After the couple moved to Sanger, Texas to be near

family, they “discovered” Hagerman and they became strong

supporters of the refuge. Following Eulalia’s death in 2012,

Carlos increased his work schedule as a pathologist and

spends his free time “roaming” in Texas and Oklahoma, yet still

provides generous support to the refuge. He professes great

admiration for those who work and teach others about wildlife

and has done much to support these efforts. His donation of

the “Carlos and Eulalia Cardinal Express” refuge tram has al-

lowed a multitude of visitors to learn about the refuge through

guided tram tours. In addition, Carlos’ donation of the butterfly

garden pergola has enhanced the experience of adults and

children alike as they appreciate the work of pollinators from an

up-close perspective. A future generous gift will support ongo-

ing projects to connect visitors with nature.

Look for a display of Eulalia’s collection of bird figu-rines in the Visitor Center. More than just a collection of figu-rines, the display represents a lifetime of shared love of wildlife and of generous support to the refuge to ensure that future generations grow up with this same appreciation for the natural world. — Jean Flick

NESTBOX Team Helping Bluebirds and Other Cavity Nesters at HNWR By Wes Crawford

The Nestbox program is a well-established volunteer activity of the FOH. This year 31 volunteers monitored 52

nestboxes and some also helped with trail maintenance. Due to these efforts, at least 200 birds safely fledged from our

monitored nestboxes, including 148 Eastern Bluebirds, up from last year.

The Adopt-a-Nestbox program begins on December 1st, when twenty of the refuge’s nestboxes go up for adoption

for a fee of $35. Those who adopt a box will be able to follow all the exciting happenings in their nestbox via an emailed

weekly report, complete with pictures and information about the stages of development of the birds and babies inhabiting it

throughout the season. Funds from the adopted nestboxes go toward maintaining all of the nestboxes on the refuge.

Our nestbox monitors had their first meeting in late February, when they paired up and

selected the trails they preferred to monitor. Each week a pair of monitors carefully open each

box and note observations on the Cornell NestWatch data sheet. A volunteer specialist enters

the data into the Cornell database for scientific monitoring and research, and another volunteer

emails the reports, with pictures, of each nestbox’s progress to its adoptive owner in the adopt-a-

nestbox program. Though each nestbox is checked weekly, each pair of monitors activates

monthly, on a rotating schedule.

We are excited about our 2019 season because we will be working with an OU research-

er to use a nestbox camera to monitor one of our boxes. We hope to... Continued on page 4

Carlos Araoz and Becky Goodman,

President, FOH Board of Directors

By Jean Flick

Standing alone or in towering groups, the

Maximilian sunflower is hard to miss in

the HNWR Butterfly Garden. This late-

summer bloomer grows from one to ten

feet in height, usually topping out at 4-6

feet. Like all sunflowers, the Maximillian

is a heliotrope, or sun-lover, turning its

bright yellow heads to follow the path of

the sun throughout the day. This native

prairie perennial has numerous flower

heads, each head ranging from 3 to 5

inches in diameter and spiraling around

the stem.

The leaves are distinctive and arise from

unbranched stems. The leaves are de-

scribed by the Lady Bird Johnson Wild-

flower Center as “long and narrow, alter-

nate, coarse and hairy, folded, and very

pointed with wavy edges.” Note the dis-

tinctive hairy appearance of the leaves

and stem in the pictures.

A walk through the HNWR Butterfly Gar-

den may reveal individual plants, but over

several years a single plant will form a

growing circular colony. These sunflow-

ers are found in central and east Texas,

north to southern Canada and east as far

as the prairie extends. They grow in low,

moist areas along roadsides and in prai-

ries and are tolerant of a wide variety of

soils, typically blooming from August to

November.

Named after naturalist Prince Maximilian

of Germany, the Maximilian sunflower

offers us beauty through the cheerful and

colorful heads turned to the sun, but also

plays an important role in our ecosystem.

The heavy fall seed crop makes it a fa-

vorite of wildlife such as birds and deer.

Pollinators, including the monarch butter-

fly, enjoy its nectar.

Sources:

Texas Parks and Wildlife at

tpwd.state.us/state-parks and Lady Bird

Johnson Wildflower Center at

http://www.wildflower.org

THE REFUGE ROCKS!

In August we studied Raccoons

Topic for September 15th:

WHO LIVES IN A POND?

Separate sessions for ages 4-7 and

8-12 with age-appropriate activities.

Details on page 6 or visit:

www.friendsofhagerman.com/youth

MAXIMILIAN SUNFLOWER — Helianthus maximiliani

Jean Flick is a Butterfly Garden Docent at

HNWR and volunteer in the Visitor Center.

Thank you, Jean Flick!

Ridden the Tram Lately? Enjoy a guided tour of the refuge while

learning about the historic town of

Hagerman—with frequent stops to view

and photograph wildlife, especially birds.

Bring the family! Saturdays at 10:00am

Reservations Recommended (903) 786-2826

Fun Facts: Native Americans used the

Maximilian Sunflower for

food, oil, dye and thread.

Pioneers believed that bath-

ing in the boiled blossoms

would relieve arthritic pain.

August 21: The morning started out cool and to start the day we took a short walk on Harris Creek Trail. Some of the birds we found there were, Pile-ated Woodpecker, Downy Woodpeck-ers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Red-headed Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch and lots of Eastern Blue-birds. We then proceeded to Dead Woman Pond where we saw the first of 8 Green Herons for the day. There we also saw a Yellow Warbler, Painted Buntings, Indigo Buntings, Blue Grosbeaks and other birds. On the road to Tern pad we saw our second Roseate Spoonbill of the season along with an Ameri-can Avocet. On the west side of the refuge we watched a Greater Roadrunner catching grasshoppers. We saw a total of 10 Wood Ducks today, Near the en-trance to Plover pad we saw 15 White-faced Ibis. We found a Least Flycatcher just past Meadow Pond. We finished the day with 65 species. Photo is Roseate Spoonbill we saw today.

Aug 14: We desperately needed rain at the refuge and did we ever get it. It was probably one of the rainiest days ever for the bird census. If you rolled down the windows to get a better look at the birds you would get soaked. But it was a worthwhile day in spite of the rain because we saw a Roseate Spoonbill, first spotted flying near the observation platform on Egret Pad and later on L Pad. We also saw one of the Bald Eagles sitting on a tree at Deaver Pond. There was a large number of Cattle Egrets in the fields on the west side of the refuge. We saw 12 Black Terns flying near the pads. There were still 4 White-faced Ibis in Mineral Marsh. We finished the day with 45 species.

August 28: We still have very limited mudflats so shorebirds were in small numbers. One of the two Roseate Spoonbills that have been seen here in the last month was in Muleshoe Marsh. We saw some Wood Ducks near the road to L pad. We saw a Belted Kingfisher at Picnic Pond on the road to Dead Woman Pond. It was very warm today and bird activity was limited. We finished an abbreviated bird census of only 4 hours with a count of 44 species. Photo (right) is of a Spotted Sandpiper. We saw 6 of this species today.

BIRDING WITH JACK

Aug 7, 2018: Today was another hot, dry summer day with promises of rain in the forecast for tomorrow. Although there are almost no mudflats we did manage to find 7 species of shorebirds including 1 Buff-breasted Sandpiper, 1 Western Sandpiper, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers, and 4 Long-billed Dowitchers. We saw a Bald Eagle flying away from Deaver Pond. Probably the best sighting of the day was an immature White Ibis in Taylor Marsh. We had a total of 50 Neotropic Cor-morants today. We saw a couple of Yellow Warblers on the pads. We finished the day with 64 species. Photo is immature White Ibis.

GUIDED BIRD WALK

Jack Chiles will lead the first guided bird walk of the season September 8th. See the event sheet on page 5 for details.

Thank You Jack Chiles

What else did they See??

See the most recent

Weekly Bird and

Butterfly Census

Results in their entirety

on the last page or visit: www.friendsofhagerman.com/BirdSurvey

ADA COMPLIANT FISHING DOCK

COVERED PICNIC TABLES! CONCRETE PATHS!

PAVILION SEATING FOR 32

NESTBOX Team Helping Bluebirds and

Other Cavity Nesters at HNWR Continued be able to generate a video image of the happenings from

inside the box. The video will be available for educational

use for programs at the Refuge.

If you enjoy being outdoors, care about helping wild-

life and want to get to see some of the beauty at HNWR,

the NESTBOX TEAM is for you. Join us by contacting us

via the FOH website, friendsofhagerman.com/Contact..

We wish to thank our team members for their help:

Dick Malnory, Ken Neuhard, Steve Keller, John Brennan,

Susan Knowles, Bert Garcia, Sue Raasch, Walter Bryant,

Don Lawrence, Ken Hildebrand, Trey Crosthwaite, Jerry

Reid, Enid Kasper, Sharon Barker, Bill Nance, Kathy

Nance, Larry Vargus, Wayne Meyer, Donna Rogers, Nana

Rylander, Sue Abernathy, Cathy Van Bebber, Jim Russell,

Teresa Crawford, Patricia Crain, Gene and Nancy Cushion.

We also thank Dick Malnory for fabricating box panel re-

pairs. A new addition to our program this year was a mow-

ing team that helped the staff keep Harris Creek and

Raasch trails mowed and vegetation clear from around the

nestboxes. Our team consisted of Bert Garcia, Larry Var-

gus, Don Lawrence, Gene Cushion, Alan Bosma, Jay

McCurley, Stephen Walker, and Mike Grubb.

Introducing our Volunteer of the Month: Since 2014, Nan has enjoyed the opportunity to train new volunteers and ensure that the

visitor center volunteers have everything they need to support our guests. Nan also works with the Nature Nook team to receive, price and tag inventory. Additionally, Nan supports both the refuge and the Friends of Hagerman by completing behind-the-scenes office work. Nan loves everything about the refuge, but one of the reasons she volunteers every week,

is the opportunity to learn more about nature and wildlife from our visitors, volunteers and staff. "So many knowledgeable people work and come into the visitor center every day - many of them have pictures and a story to tell about their personal experiences with na-ture. That personal interaction makes it all worth while." Nan and her husband live on their own 40 acre wildlife refuge in Sadler where they grow

blueberries, blackberries and grapes.

To become a volunteer of the month, you: 1. Must have been volunteering at the refuge for at least a year. 2. Must volunteer at the refuge at least twice a month. 3. Have made a standout contribution.

Thank You Nan Campbell

Friends of Hagerman NWR Foundation

6465 Refuge Road Sherman, TX 75092

Phone: 903-786-2826

friendsofhagerman@gmail.com http://www.friendsofhagerman.com

www.facebook.com/FOHNWR

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge 6465 Refuge Road Sherman, TX 75092

Phone: 903-786-2826

Thank You To Our Contributors: Jean Flick, Jack Chiles, Alan Lusk, Wes Crawford, Courtney Anderson, Pat Crone Refuge Manager: Kathy Whaley Refuge Liaison: Paul Balkenbush

Would you like to volunteer at Hagerman

NWR? Check out the many ways to become

involved at: HelpHagerman.org

SECOND SATURDAY

Thank you Dr. Bryon Clark of Southeastern Oklahoma

State University for an excellent presentation on Bats. COMING IN SEPTEMBER: Plant and Insect Relationships

by Loriann Garcia, Assistant Profes-sor of Biology at Austin College. See page 5 for details or visit: friendsofhagerman.com/Activities Photo by Alan Lusk

Butterfly Garden Walk Saturday, September 1

st, 15

th and 29

th, 9:30 – 11:30am

Enjoy a stroll through the Butterfly Garden at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. Come on your own or bring the family. Every first, third and fifth Saturday, Garden docents will be on hand to help you identify the Texas native plants and the butterflies in the garden. 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. Come and Go or Come and Stay. The garden is free of charge and open to the public during refuge hours.

Garden Work Days Love to work in the garden? Come help us with our beautiful butterfly garden. Email for dates, times and details: friendsofhagerman@gmail.com

Outdoor Crew Tuesday, September 4

th and Saturday September 22

nd

Show your love for nature! Join the Outdoor Crew at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, sprucing up trails, trim-ming and removing brush, trash and general cleanup! The Outdoor Crew meets on the First Tuesday and Fourth Saturday of every month. Please email friendsofhagerman@gmail.com for details and to join the team.

Early Bird Guided Walk Saturday, September 8, 2018, 8:00am – 9:30am Master Naturalist Jack Chiles will lead the Early Bird walk for September, weather permitting. Meet at the Visitor Center. Bring binoculars or borrow ours, return in time for the Second Saturday program.

Second Saturday: Plant and Insect Relationships Saturday, September 8, 2018, 10:00am – 11:30am Loriann Garcia, Assistant Professor of Biology at Austin College, will speak about Plant and Insect Relationships. All are welcome to attend this free program. The Refuge Rocks Saturday, September 15, 2018, 10:00am – 11:30am Ages 4-7: Who lives in a pond? Fish, frogs, dragonflies, ducks and more! Learn about a pond ecosystem through games, sto-ries and crafts. Parents are asked to accompany children in this age group. Please visit www.friendsofhagerman.com/Contact to register, or call (903) 786-2826 and speak with a volunteer. Please regis-ter each child individually. Ages 8 – 12: Who lives in a pond? Beyond fish, frogs and ducks there is POND SCUM!! View the smallest creatures/plants in a microscope and learn about a pond ecosystem this month! Please visit www.friendsofhagerman.com/Contact to register, or call (903) 786-2826 and speak with a volunteer. Please register each child individually.

FOH Nature Photography Club Meeting Saturday, September 15, 2018, 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Irwin Lightstone will present on "Macro Photography". His photographic work has won numerous awards and is of-ten featured in the Cactus and Succulent Journal. In his work, Irwin often combines photography with with another of his passions, growing plants, particularly cacti and succulents. Tram Tours All aboard the all-electric Carlos and Eulalia Cardinal Express for a 60 - 90 minute tour along Wildlife Drive at the Refuge. Free (donations accepted). Guided tours offered at 10 am on Saturdays, weather permitting. Call (903)786-2826 for reservations since seating is limited. Standbys are accepted, if space permits. Tours are recom-mended for age 6 - adult. Please note - please speak to a volunteer 9 am - 4 pm Monday - Saturday or 1 - 5 pm on Sundays, thank you. Sorry, no dogs other than service animals are allowed on board the tram.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR THE NEXT TIME YOU VISIT... Each Tuesday a team of expert birders, led by Jack Chiles, take a refuge Bird census by recording the birds they

encounter throughout the refuge. They report their findings to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology unit of Cornell Uni-

versity in Ithaca, New York, for use in research.

Results of the Hagerman NWR Bird Census taken August 28th Visit www.friendsofhagerman.com/BirdSurvey for the most recent Bird Census results!

Thank you: Jack Chiles, Mike Petrick, Gailon Brehm, Chuck Carlson, Terry Goode, Frances and Jon Edwards, Steffani Olivares, Eileen Sullivan. 44 species (+2 other taxa)

Canada Goose 45

Wood Duck 7

Blue-winged Teal 33

Mallard/Mexican Duck 3

Eurasian Collared-Dove 2

Inca Dove 2

Mourning Dove 4

Ruby-throated/Black-chinned Hummingbird 1

Killdeer 22

Least Sandpiper 3

Spotted Sandpiper 6

Neotropic Cormorant 11

Double-crested Cormorant 1

American White Pelican 1

Great Blue Heron 12

Great Egret 35

Snowy Egret 26

Little Blue Heron 12

Cattle Egret 20

Green Heron 1

White-faced Ibis 6

Roseate Spoonbill 1

Black Vulture 3

Turkey Vulture 19

Red-shouldered Hawk 1

Red-tailed Hawk 2

Belted Kingfisher 1

Red-headed Woodpecker 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker 1

Eastern Phoebe 6

White-eyed Vireo 3

Blue Jay 2

American Crow 22

Barn Swallow 1

Carolina Chickadee 5

Tufted Titmouse 2

Carolina Wren 1

Eastern Bluebird 15

Northern Mockingbird 2

European Starling 12

Red-winged Blackbird 12

Northern Cardinal 8

Blue Grosbeak 2

Indigo Bunting 4

Painted Bunting 1

House Sparrow 8

Weekly on the Wing: Butterfly Sightings in the Garden Visit www.friendsofhagerman.com/ButterflyGarden for the most recent butterfly sightings!

Plants in Bloom:

White Gaura

Pink Gaura Blackfoot Daisy Black-eyed Susan Datura/Angel Trumpet Bee Brush Hairy Zexmenia Frogfruit Gregg’s Mistflower Mexican Hat Texas Lantana Drummund's Wild Petunia Sandpaper Verbena Mealy Blue Sage Lord Baltimore Hibiscus Turk's Cap Compass Plant Rock Rose

Passion Vine Native Sunflower Salvia Greggii Flame Acanthus Obedient Plant Ironweed Rattlesnake Master Partridge Pea Smartweed Lindheimer's Senna Bitterweed Boneset Dayflower (Widow's Tears) Prairie Fleabane Crossvine Desert Willow Red Yucca Smooth Sumac

Butterfly Sightings:

Cloudless Sulphur Dainty Sulphur Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Giant Swallowtail Gulf Fritillary Monarch Orange Sulphur Pipevine Swallowtail Queen Sleepy Orange Variegated Fritillary

Thank you: Laurie Sheppard, Carl Hill, Sue Abernathy, David Turner, Jean Flick, Valerie Dalton and the Maintenance Team