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New Oak Trees for the Pavilion
Photo of a Blooming Redbud with a Black-and-white Warbler by Donnie Simmons As you approached the Visitor Center on Refuge Road this fall, did you notice the newest addition in front of the Environmental Education Pavilion? The final piece of the planned park-like area fell into place with the planting of two new trees – one Texas Red Oak and one young Bur Oak. As they grow and flourish, the shade from these trees will provide welcome respite in warm weather, and in fall, the Red Oak especially will display beautiful color for years to come. |
Texas Red Oak (Quercus buckleyi) is a deciduous tree in the Beech family that may reach 50 feet at maturity. It is native to the Blackland Prairie and Cross Timbers ecosystems where the refuge is located. It grows quickly – up to 2.5 feet per year – and is a superior shade tree known for its red to orange late fall foliage. In spring it will have tiny flowers arranged on a catkin. When the flowers are pollinated the tree will produce egg-shaped acorns that mature in their second year. The species was named for Samuel B. Buckley who was a prominent American botanist, geologist, and naturalist who served as the State Geologist of Texas in the late 1800s. 
Work Crew volunteers planted the new trees. Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) is a majestic, long-lived deciduous tree that may reach 100 feet or more in height. It is the fastest growing native Oak and may gain as much as three feet per year. It is perhaps best known for its giant fringed acorns, causing it to be known sometimes as the “mossy-cup oak”. The “fringe” is reminiscent of the spines on a chestnut husk. It is in the white oak group and therefore is less susceptible to “oak wilt”. Bur Oaks may live for 200-300 years. They are drought tolerant but as recent years have taught us, do not tolerate prolonged flooding. Many Bur Oaks on the refuge were lost after the 2015 flood. |
It is easy to see why this is called a White-M Hairstreak. Photo by Laurie Sheppard. Our new trees will shade the paved pathway from the Harris Creek Trail to the Environmental Education Pavilion. They will provide shelter for animals and birds and are host plants for the White-M Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, and Horace’s Duskywing butterflies. The Education Pavilion has been a multi-year project by the Friends of Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (FOH) to enhance the youth education opportunities available on site. The project began in August, 2021, when volunteers cleared the lot and prepared for construction of the platform and canopy. From that time forward, the FOH continuously made incremental changes. Volunteers assembled and installed the weather-resistant tables in 2022 and installed sod around the site (and kept it watered) in 2023. In that same year, the bathroom was installed and paths were paved. At present, the Education Pavilion not only provides an outdoor learning and assembling spot for school field trips, youth groups, and special events, it is a shady resting place for weary hikers. With seating for up to 100 youth, it is the meeting place for our .JPG) annual Nature’O’logy day camp each year. On any given day you might see families stopping there for lunch or FOH committees meeting or even ham radio operators communicating with far-flung locations under the open shelter of the pavilion.The Friends of Hagerman NWR extend their sincere thanks to Twin Oaks Nursery for their generous discount on the new trees. |
Photos by Donnie Simmons Join the photo club for a program about Owls on March 21st. All are welcome. More Amazing Nature Photos taken at the refuge. Facebook account Required. |
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Upcoming Activities:
The Friends of Hagerman is Hosting 12 Family Friendly Events in March! Donate to help fund programs like these! |
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Second Saturday: Pollinators with Laurie Sheppard Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM in the Visitor Center
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 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 this 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. Future Second Saturday Programs |
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Join the Garden Docents 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!
The first meeting of the season will be March 26th at 1:30 PM in the Visitor Center. For more information contact: Kim Tingle Texas Master Naturalist HNWR Butterfly Garden Docent Program Chair info@friendsofhagerman.org |
ADOPT-A-GOOSE 2026
Help the Snow and Ross's Geese Over-Wintering on Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge Each winter, thousands of Snow Geese and Ross’s Geese visit Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (HNWR). These geese have migrated thousands of miles from nesting grounds near the Arctic Circle to HNWR. To provide a vital food resource for these exhausted and hungry travelers, HNWR plants fields of winter wheat. The Friends of Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (FoH) sponsors the “Adopt-a- Goose” fund raiser to help offset budget constraints of the refuge and purchase the wheat seed needed to plant the fields. Please consider supporting our effort with your generous donation. How can you help? Adopt-a-Goose Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated.
Why did the Friends of Hagerman start Adopt-A-Goose?
What are the benefits?
What is being provided by the Friends of Hagerman?
Donation Method You can donate with a credit/debit card by scanning the QR code or using the link friendsofhagerman.org/Donate.
The Friends of Hagerman NWR Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) entity whose mission is to instill reverence, respect and conservation of our wild creatures and habitats through supporting environmental education, recreational activities and programs of Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. No goods and services are to be received by donors; therefore, all donations may be tax-deductible. |
| Eastern Bluebird Nestboxes for Sale: $75* The Eastern Bluebird nesting season will begin soon! Enjoy the birds in your backyard. Complete Kit Includes:
Nestbox Only: $24.99* Available in the Nature Nook while supplies last. *Plus applicable sales tax. |
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Join Us for Our Annual Meeting March 8, 2026 at 3:00 PM in the Visitor Center Hear reports from board members on their work advancing the mission of the Friends of Hagerman NWR Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to instilling reverence, respect, and conservation of our wild creatures and habitats through supporting environmental education, recreational activities, and programs of Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Members may also vote on nominated board appointees. Not a member yet? Join here. |
Free Field Trips for Schools and Youth Groups Enjoy a fun-filled day of learning about nature, at the refuge or in your classroom. With the support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the refuge, our knowledgeable volunteers—with more than 100 years of combined teaching experience—will lead your students on a guided hike through prairie, pond, forest, and riparian ecosystems while reinforcing their science TEKS. Along the way, students will compare habitats and learn to identify animal tracks, bird songs, native plants, and other fascinating discoveries. Next, we’ll visit Hagerman’s ¼ - acre pollinator garden, where students will learn how to use insect binoculars before being set loose to explore. They’ll enjoy close-up encounters with live butterflies, insects, spider egg sacs, chrysalises, and whatever else they can find! We’ll wrap up this portion by connecting their observations to TEKS concepts such as life cycles and the functions of organisms. To round out the experience, students will explore animal skins and skulls, to get an up-close look at the differences between carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores—and discover how food chains really work. View TEKS aligned lesson plans and Apply for a Field Trip today! |
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If you enjoy your backyard birds, you may want to help them with offerings of nesting materials, as nesting season is just beginning. Here is a guide to safe offerings for wild birds: Twigs For birds looking for small twigs, almost any tree or shrub you plant will do. When small branches or twigs fall from a shrub and gather at its base, leave them for birds to pick up, preferably in lengths under 4 inches. Greenery Some birds line nests with soft plant matter. You can provide this accoutrement by growing catkin-bearing trees and shrubs such as cottonwood, maple, mulberry, willows, poplar and beech. Cattails, Cottonwood or Milkweed Fluff Many birds—hummingbirds spring to mind, but other songbirds as well—gravitate toward fluffy material, such as seeds with silky attachments designed to waft them on the wind or seed pods with a soft, hairlike covering. You can provide these items via cottonwood trees, lamb’s ear (the ground cover plant), milkweed (also good for attracting monarch butterflies), honeysuckle, and clematis. Mud If you have a pesky spot in your garden that refuses to grow anything but dirt, try adding a little water and see if you can grow mud. Mud is a favored nesting material for swallows and swifts and even the common robin. Dry grass When you trim your yard, perhaps you can find a spot in your garden for laying out a selection of dried grass stems cut 2 to 4 inches long. Grass is a common ingredient in songbird nests, used by species from native sparrows to robins. Moss If you have a shady spot in your yard, trying growing moss; with its velvety green growth, moss is a beautiful highlight for any moist garden and is a favored building material of some hummingbird species. Please DO NOT offer yarn, string or human hair for birds to build nests! Every year we see both young and adult birds being admitted to wildlife rehabilitators due to this. It can sometimes result in the bird losing their foot or entire leg from the yarn/string/hair slowly tightening and cutting off circulation . Please do not offer laundry dryer lint either. The lint collected in your dryer filter may seem like ideal nesting material, but it isn’t. It will soak up water and may be steeped with chemicals unhealthy for birds, such as remnants of detergent and softener. Also a warning about offering pet hair. Many of our pets are treated with specialty shampoos or tick/lice treatments which stay on the hair and can be harmful to birds collecting it for nesting material. Do not offer pet hair, as it has likely been exposed to shampoo treatments and chemicals. |
The Weekly Bird Census
Left to Right: Wayne Meyer, Nancy Riggs, Jack Chiles, and Mike Petrick 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.
Canvasback, Northern Cardinal and Western Meadowlark It was sunny and very windy for today’s census. At one point the wind gusts were reported to be 50mph. Many of the smaller birds were hunkered down, but waterfowl numbers and variety were very good. We started the day on Raasch Trail where we found two Wood Ducks on a shallow pond. Notably absent were the meadowlarks that are usually in the grassy areas. At Goode we saw the first of two flyover Bald Eagles – both juveniles. Most of the duck species were in the marshes on the Auto Tour roads. We watched four Redhead drop in for a brief visit and saw three Canvasbacks and a Ring-necked Duck nearby. A large group of Forster’s Terns were hovering and diving for tiny fish there as well. Later, we found two Lesser Scaup in the same area. By the end of the day, we had counted 166 Northern Pintail, 179 Gadwall, and 302 Green-winged Teal. There are still about 1000 Snow and Ross’s Geese on the refuge. See the rest of Jack's notes and the latest Bird Census Results |
Join Cindy Steele for: The Refuge Rocks! Spring Break Programs for Children
All Are Welcome! (Registration Required) Tuesday, March 17, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Registration Meet the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat—Texas’ flying superstar! In this two-hour class, kids will discover cool bat facts, play fun learning activities, and create a bat-tastic craft while learning why these amazing bats are so important to Texas. Thursday, March 19, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Registration Dig into Texas’ rocky treasures! In this two-hour class, kids will explore the Texas State Stone—petrified palmwood—and the Texas State Stone—blue topaz. Young rockhounds will learn fun facts, see what makes these Texas stars special, and create rock and gem crafts to take home. Saturday, March 21, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Registration Discover what makes Texas, Texas! In our March Refuge Rocks program, kids will explore a variety of Texas State Symbols and learn how they connect to the plants, animals, and natural world of our great state. Through hands-on state symbol activities and crafts, young explorers will have fun learning Texas pride the nature-related way! |
| Puddles' Craft Corner By Cindy Steele, Master Naturalist |
Gee, I Love Geodes!
Welcome back to Puddles’ Craft Corner. Geodes are one of the great mysteries in the rock and mineral world! On the outside, they look like plain, uninteresting rocks. But break them open, and you find the most amazingly beautiful crystals hiding inside!
Geodes, for kids, are a wonderful introduction to geology and provide a hands-on tool for learning how rocks are formed. They might look ordinary on the outside, but their beauty is on the inside. In Greek, the word geode means “shape of the Earth.” A geode is formed when a mixture of liquid and minerals fills the empty space of a hollow rock. Geodes are created over time. It may take millions of years for the space inside the rock to be filled.
So, what are geodes anyway? It seems humans have always been fascinated by geodes. Maybe it is our deep-seated pursuit of hidden treasure, which the geode perfectly satisfies. Think of it: an unassuming, rough rock that, when opened up, reveals a hidden, hollow sphere of crystals within — the so-called “diamond in the rough.” So, what exactly makes up these inside globes of sparkly materials? Simply put, geodes are hollow rocks that contain an incredibly beautiful array of crystal formations inside. Depending on the minerals that make up the geode, different geodes will contain different kinds of crystals, such as amethyst, agate, and quartz. Geodes can be found in locations all over the world and can range from a few inches to tomb-sized geodes that may weigh upwards of a ton!
How do geodes form? Geodes can occur within either volcanic or sedimentary rocks. Beginning as hollow bubbles inside other rocks, geodes form over many years. Basically, geodes are sedimentary rocks, with crystals forming inside the bubbles as a result of a chemical reaction that leads to the precipitation of minerals that become those crystals. The outer shell of a geode is made of very hard rock, and crystals form inside geodes only when the perfect combination of temperature, pressure changes, and evaporation exists. As water seeps into the rocks around a geode, minerals are deposited inside the hollow rock. Typically, these minerals become agate and quartz, which form in layers very slowly over the course of thousands of years. Geode crystals can be large or small, filling the entire cavity of the outer shell or creating rings of crystals lining the shell. The outer rind of geodes is usually bumpy and made of a type of quartz called chalcedony. However, just because a rock has an outer...
Lesson and Craft Instructions Other Nature Crafts with Puddles
Junior Ranger Program: Advanced and Intermediate
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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! |
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Sponsors Enable the Friends to…
Join Today! Memberships available for $20 |
Come, 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 Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM, 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.
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Group Tram Tour |
Register for a Tram Tour Today! |
Sunrise at the Little Sit by Laurie Sheppard | Photo by Cathy Van Bebber |
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 |
Dr. Wayne Meyer, Ornithologist and Jack Chiles, Master Naturalist 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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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, Nancy Miller, Laurie Sheppard, Donnie Simmons, Cindy Steele Refuge Manager: Kathy Whaley Acting Deputy Refuge Manager: Mary Maddux Visitor Services Manager: Spencer Beard Friends 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
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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!