It was a typical Thursday morning at Hagerman
and my day to monitor the Bluebird houses on the Harris
Creek Trail. I arrived around 9:30 and went into the Visitor Center to get the bucket of goodies we
use for monitoring the trails. I had a relaxed and enjoyable time driving the golf cart along
the trails while checking out the 35 boxes along the way. Finally I finished up and headed back to
the Visitor Center to return the bucket and cool off.
It was now around 12:30 and hot outside, and I was getting very hungry. It felt very good inside the Visitor Center.
I washed up and while I was enjoying the coolness of the air-conditioning I was visiting with
Lee Hatfield, the Nature Nook volunteer for the day. She had a really nice camera sitting under
the counter and being a fellow photographer I asked her about it. She told me a little about
the camera and said she had gotten to the Refuge early to drive around and take some photos. Lee
said she had gotten some shots of the Bar-Headed Goose. I told her I had never heard of
that Goose and she said she had looked it up in the reference manual we keep on the counter and
discovered that it was from India. No idea how it got here but here it was. We talked about
it for awhile then she got busy with visitors and I was really getting hungry so I headed back
to town. I had an errand to run in Denison before going home to eat and it was already 1:00. I
was almost all the way to Hwy 289 when I talked myself into
putting the errand off until
tomorrow, holding off on lunch a little longer and going back to
Hagerman to find that Bar-Headed
Goose.
I was driving down Wildlife drive at 1:30
thinking how I never see the good stuff this time of the day and maybe I was
wasting my time. Lee told me she had photographed the goose on Egret Drive so that’s where
I turned. Way up ahead of me I saw, what looked like a Coyote ambling down the middle of
the road. As I got closer it dove into the brush along the shore. I lost him but stopped
where he went in and since it was a pad road I knew he couldn't go far. I looked along the shore
and then out in the water and found him. The coyote had jumped into the pond and swum the
short distance to the shallows on the other side. He looked like he was enjoying to coolness
of the water but a little perturbed at me for being there.
I was very excited since I had
never seen a coyote out on the pads. I took a few more photos before he got in the tall
grass on the other side and I could no longer see him. I continued on with my “Quest for
the Bar-head” but got to the end of the road with no luck and headed back towards Wildlife
Drive. As I got closer to the end of Egret Drive I noticed something in the road again and thought the
coyote had returned but soon discovered it was a raccoon. It was digging in the gravel and
eating something and not very interested in me so I was able to get some good shots of him.
I have been coming to Hagerman for a long time
and this was the first Raccoon I have seen here. He finally got leery of my lurking around and jumped into the thick grass and scurried out of site. I had not
found the Goose but had lots of new experiences so I was thinking it was time to call it a day. By
this time it was pushing 2:00 and I had to get home. I quickly drove to Plover Drive in a last
ditch effort to find him but no luck there either.
I headed up the road towards the Visitor
Center and was just getting ready to leave when I decided to try Egret Drive
one more time. I turned around and as I drove up the road, this one last time, a group of
Cormorants drew my attention because they were doing the thing where they were all perched on a
fallen tree out in the water and they looked like they were on bleachers watching a sporting
event.
As I was photographing them something flew by
that caught my eye. Oh my gosh! It was the Bar-Headed Goose! I looked up
and saw it flying in a holding pattern over a group of Canada Geese in the pond near me
and the Cormorants. The Cormorants looked as surprised as I was. I was able to get some
quick shots of him in the air and then some more when he landed among the Canada Geese.
I probably got 20 photos of him but couldn't tear myself away. I
finally stopped photographing and just sat there and watch as he dipped his
head in the water and groomed himself along
with all the Canada Geese. He looked like he was having a good time and I was getting tired
of hearing my stomach growling at me so I headed home.
My family and I have been visiting and photographing Hagerman for many years and most times, just when you think there is nothing special going on and the wildlife is kind of slow, out pops something that makes it all worthwhile.
Always something at Hagerman!
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