Interior Least Terns at Hagerman NWR

Last week Dr. Wayne Meyer's Second Saturday program was on Terns, particularly the Interior Least Tern. Thirty Interior Least Terns were spotted by the birders at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge on May 22, then only 8 on May 29 and 4 on June 5. Until this week,  no nesting activity had been reported and the question has been, will they nest here this year or have they moved on?

Now we have the answer!  From Jack Chiles Tuesday Bird Census for June 12, "The highlight of the day was discovering that the Least Terns have settled in, starting to nest."

The Refuge was ready, with two nesting platforms placed in Lake Texoma. (Photos were taken in 2015 by Rusty Daniel and Gary Hall)

Habitat for the Least Tern, as described by Cornell Lab of Ornithology on All About Birds is “Seacoasts, beaches, bays, estuaries, lagoons, lakes, and rivers, breeding on sandy or gravelly beaches and banks of rivers or lakes, rarely on flat rooftops of buildings.” You can add to that the two artificial nesting platforms at Hagerman, especially designed and built by Refuge employees for the Least Tern. Funding for the project was provided by Jetta Operating Company, Inc and the Nancy Ruth Fund.

The first of two artificial nesting platforms (above) was completed and put in place the summer of 2013.  A second platform was constructed and was to be "launched" in 2014 but those plans were on hold due to drought - there was no water in the area where the platform was to go! And for the record, the one-legged Terns in the photo above from 2013 are decoys!  BUT - once again the terns have chosen the pad roads, according to Jack, nesting "on C and D pads. Those areas have now been closed off to the public (no walking/no driving) to protect this endangered species. We counted 20 Least Terns and saw at least 4 birds sitting on eggs. One nest visible from the edge of the pad had 3 eggs. The nests will be monitored until the birds that hatch out fledge six weeks or so from now".

The Least Tern, the smallest American Tern, is an 8 to 9-inch bird, with a black "crown" on the head, a snowy whiter underside and forehead, grayish back and wings, orange legs, and a yellow bill with a black tip. Males and females are similar in their appearance. The name “Interior” is attached to Least Terns who breed in isolated areas along the Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Red, and Rio Grande river systems. They winter in coastal areas of Central and South America.

Interior Least Terns at HNWR, photographed by Eileen Sullivan in June, 2011

The Interior Least Tern is endangered due to loss of habitat, primarily because of changes in river systems and competition from recreational development. Terns arrive at the breeding ground in late spring – early summer and spend several months there. According to Dr. Wayne Meyer, courtship behavior includes the male showing off a fish to potential females, see photo above. Nesting in small colonies, Terns scratch out a shallow depression in sand or gravel for a nesting spot. The female lays 2 – 3 eggs in 3 – 5 days. Parents take turns incubating the eggs for about 3 weeks; Dr. Meyer says that the female does the lion share of the incubating.  Chicks hatch one per day and leave the nest a few days after hatching but continue to be fed and cared for by adults for about two months.

Nesting adults defend an area surrounding the nest (territory) against intruders. Intruders can include humans, coyotes, fox, raccoons, bobcats, domestic dogs and cats, American Crows, Great Egrets, and Great Blue Herons among other creatures. When defending a territory, the incubating bird will fly around giving an alarm call and diving repeatedly at the intruder.

Terns feed on small fish and aquatic creatures and can be seen hovering and diving for prey, as well as skimming for insects. The young have to learn these hunting skills during their "nursery" days.

Tern in flight, photographed by Mike Chiles

Terns usually return to the same nesting area year after year. Before the launch of Tern Island I and II, the birds chose the rocky surface of the pad roads for their nursery, completely vulnerable to predators and extreme summer heat; the successful hatch rate was low to none. However, they still had not taken to the presumably safer man-made nesting platforms in 2017; they produced 10 eggs and 5 live chicks, on the pad roads C and D.

Nesting Tern, photographed by Jack Chiles in 2011 on one of the Pad roads at HNWR.

Hopefully, the terns will have a successful hatch this year.


Thanks to Jack Chiles, Texas Master Naturalist, for the original post on Least Terns, July 13, 2011.  Material has been updated in 2015, 2017 and 2018. In addition to All About Birds, information for this post came from Texas Parks Wildlife and from US Fish & Wildlife.

Buttercups in Bloom

Have you ever gotten “butter” on your nose from a buttercup? Or as they are botanically named, Oenothera speciosa. Buttercups are also known as Pink evening primrose, Showy evening primrose, Mexican evening primrose, Showy primrose, Pink ladies, Pink buttercups, according to the Native Plant Information Network. 

From Wikipedia, we learned that although this plant is also frequently referred to as a buttercup, it is not a true buttercup (genus Ranunculus) or even in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae.

Pink Evening Primrose at Hagerman NWR, by Kathy Whaley

The website for Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center goes on to say that while most primroses open in the evening, this plant, native over a widespread area from Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, opens in the evening in the northern range but in the morning in the southern range. They could also be called “dayflower” as each flower lasts only one day.

“Buttercups” are perennial; their blooms vary from palest pink, nearly white, to deep rich pinks. The flowers’ yellow pollen is the source of the “butter”. They will grow is a variety of soils but go dormant if the soil is too dry; in our area, you will note large masses of them where there are apparent low places in the fields and along roadsides.  

Pink Evening Primrose at Hagerman NWR, by H. S. Bert Garcia

You will also find a  showy yellow version in the Butterfly Garden at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, Oenothera macrocarpa, commonly known as Bigfruit evening-primrose, Missouri evening-primrose, Fluttermill, Big-fruit evening-primrose, Missouri Primrose (shown below).

Birds like the seeds from evening primroses and the flowers offer nectar to bees, moths, and butterflies.

NOTE:  Weather permitting there will be a Wildflower Tour of Hagerman NWR at 10 on Saturday, May 26!  Reserve a spot in the van (see sidebar of the webpage) or caravan along as we stop to enjoy various wildflower areas at the Refuge.

American Basketflower, April Plant of the Month

Centaurea americana - American Basketflower

By Sharon Parrish

American Basket Flower, sometimes called Shaving Brush or Straw-hat, is in the Sunflower family and the only genus native to North America.   It is found in several states in southwest and north central US, as well as New York and South Carolina.  The plant starts growing in late winter with blooming periods from May to July or August.

American Basketflower stands two to five feet high with two-three inch wide showy blooms that are generally lavender in color, with creamy centers, and have a honey fragrance.  The height of the plant is largely dependent on soil conditions and rainfall.   The plant can grow in sand, loam or clay and is found along roadsides, meadows, prairies and farmed or overgrazed fields. It grows best in full sun, and if enough land area is available, can be found in large colonies. 

This annual reseeds easily and has low water requirements.  Stems are enlarged below the head and sport narrow simple leaves that attach directly to the stem.  The leaves are smooth with no teeth and no hairs.  The petals that make up the plant head are held by a basket weave phyllary, appearing as a bloom in a basket (hence the name). Look for it soon in the Butterfly Garden at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and in the wild there also.

Nectar from the blooms is high in sugar and amino acids, and pollen is high in protein.  The plant attracts hummingbirds, songbirds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators.  Game and songbirds especially nourish on the seeds, shown below,  that are relatively large with excellent nutritional value.   American Basketflower is not grazed by wildlife or livestock and has no diseases or pests.   The plant is generally tolerant of floods, droughts and freezing temperatures.

A Field Guide to Wildflowers, Trees and Shrubs of Texas, Delena Tull and George Oxford Miller, 1991

Range Plants of North Central Texas, Ricky J. Linex, 2014

Native American Seeds, www.seedsource.com, 2015

Note: Sharon Parrish is a Texas Master Naturalist, a Butterfly Garden Docent at HNWR and regularly volunteers in the Visitor Center there also.

Survey of Visitors Set to Begin at HNWR

By Jean Flick

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge has been selected as a participant in the National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Survey for 2018.  The thirty-five refuges selected represent all regions of the country and each has annual visitation of at least 50,000.  Two sampling periods are scheduled at HNWR, with the first period from March 22 – April 1.  The second sampling period will be in the fall.  During each survey period, two survey staff will conduct visitor surveys at four refuge locations.  Multiple areas were selected in an effort to capture visitors with diverse interests in the refuge.  

Watercolor- HNWR Visitor Center -  by Sandy Weir

During the first survey period, the selected areas include the Visitor Center, Harris Creek Trailhead and Kiosk, Big Mineral Day Use Area, and the intersection of Refuge Road and Wildlife Drive.  Visitors will be asked if they are willing to participate in an online or mail survey.  If willing, contact information will be collected by the surveyors.  The surveyors, who are from American Conservation Experience (ACE) and the Ohio State University, will be housed at the refuge during the two sampling periods.

According to Kathy Whaley, refuge manager, the USFWS has increased its emphasis on improving visitor services and experiences in recent years.  The Visitor Survey is designed to gather information about who visits refuges, and what activities are most important to visitors.  The survey also assesses visitor satisfaction with access, facilities, and available recreational opportunities, as well as looking at related transportation on and off the refuge, and the economic contribution of visitors to the local economy. 

HNWR participated in the last National Visitor Survey, conducted in 2012.  At that time, over 10,000 responses were received from the 73 refuges that participated, with over 200 responses received from visitors at HNWR.  Surveyed visitors at HNWR listed participation in a variety of refuge activities during the 12 months prior to completing the survey; the top three activities in which people reported participating were bird watching (71%), wildlife observation (71%), and auto tour route/driving (53%). The primary reasons identified for visitors’ most recent visits included bird watching (32%), hunting (13%), and wildlife observation (10%). Eighty-seven percent of visitors also used the HNWR Visitor Center during their visits.  In all areas of visitor satisfaction, the response rates ranged from 94-97% expressing satisfaction.  Over half of visitors surveyed expressed interest in a tram tour of the refuge.  A twice-weekly tram tour was implemented in 2012 and is conducted by FOH volunteers.

The overall satisfaction of visitors at HNWR is clearly evidenced by the increase in visitation at HNWR, increasing from 135,000 in 2011 to 181,000 in 2017.  Kathy Whaley expressed hope that the 2018 Visitor Survey will continue to affirm the work of  the HNWR staff and volunteers of “doing what we are supposed to be doing, ” as expressed in the USFWS publication “Meet the National Wildlife Refuge System:  Special Places Where Wildlife and People Thrive:”

The Refuge System strives to make refuges welcoming, safe, and accessible places for visitors, and to provide visitors a variety of ways to enjoy, learn about, appreciate, and help conserve fish, wildlife, and plants. While carrying out national conservation goals, we strive to be valued components of local communities. We also strive to foster an informed and engaged citizenry that actively supports and understands the value of conservation and the role of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

The Perfect Host

In the Butterfly Garden at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, there is a butterfly nursery out there just waiting for warm spring weather.  These are plants that will feed, or host butterfly and moth caterpillars once eggs begin to hatch.

According to Gardens with Wings,

If you keep an eye out you’ll see the female as she flits around the plant, gently laying her next brood’s eggs, sometimes on the top of leaves but usually on the bottom, hidden from predators.  Then, in 10 to 14 days, the tiny larvae, less than an eighth inch long, emerge and begin eating the plant. It’s a fascinating process as they munch away, growing larger every day. Equally fascinating is watching the caterpillar leave the plant to form a chrysalis.    

And from The Butterfly Site:

Because tiny caterpillars cannot travel far to find their own food, the female butterfly locates and lays her eggs on only the type of plant that the caterpillar can use as food. Most species of caterpillars are particular about the type of plants they can eat. If the egg was not placed on the correct plant, the caterpillar hatching from that egg will not survive.

So what is on the menu?  

Click here for a list of common garden plants that host caterpillars in North Texas, from the North American Butterfly Association. (Scroll past Nectar Plants to Host Plants)

  

Here are just a few of the “caterpillar nurseries” that have been planted in the garden at the Refuge, and the species they will host:

• Milk Weed - Asclepias tuberosa and Asclepias viridis –Monarch and Queen
• Texas Redbud, Yaupon Holly  – Henry’s Elfin
• Carolina Buckthorn – American Snout
• Inland Sea Oats – Bell’s Roadside Skipper
• Downy Forestiera -  Hairstreaks
• Passionvine – Gulf Fritillary
• Partridge Pea - Cloudless Sulphur
• Frogfruit - Phaon Crescent

All of these host plants grow naturally as well at Hagerman. When you see some raggedy chewed up leaves on these host plants, you will know new butterflies will soon appear!

Monarch Caterpillar, by Brenda Loveless

NOTE:  This post has been updated from the original publication on  February 2, 2015.

American Kestrel

Photo by Nature's Realm

According to Cornell's  All About Birds, the American Kestrel is North America's smallest falcon and the most colorful raptor.  

Hunting for insects and other small prey in open territory, kestrels perch on wires or poles, or hover facing into the wind, flapping and adjusting their long tails to stay in place. 

Photo by Jack Chiles

Recently, photographers have been posting a number of photos of this beautiful little raptor taken at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge on the Friends of Hagerman Facebook Page.  So we had the kestrel in mind as our topic for the week - then we discovered that a North Texas writer, Renny Gehman has the cover article, on the kestrel,  in the February, 2018 issue of Bird Watcher's Digest.  Don't miss her five-page article, with excellent descriptors.

As Gehman points out, kestrels nest in cavities, relying on existing holes.  They have one or two broods a season, with 4 - 5 eggs.  According to Cornell, which offers box plans, kestrels take readily to nesting boxes, but you would be fortunate to have a nesting pair in our North Texas area, as they are seldom seen here in summer, per the Hagerman Bird Census.

Photo by Win Goddard

Watch for the American Kestrel show at Hagerman NWR!

January Plant of the Month - Possumhaw

(https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/2009/nov09/Possumh.html)

Have you seen this bright berried deciduous tree or shrub that just stands out in the winter landscape? It is Ilex decidua  - commonly known by a number of names - Possumhaw, Possumhaw holly, Deciduous holly, Meadow holly, Prairie holly, Swamp holly, Welk holly, Deciduous yaupon, Bearberry, Winterberry.

Possumhaw in the rain at HNWR, by Dana Crites

According to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center website,

"Opossums, raccoons, other mammals, songbirds, and gamebirds eat the fruit of this and related species."

The spring blooms of the possumhaw also provide nectar for insects and the horizontal branches offer a platform for birds' nests.


From the Texas Native Plants Database, 

"Possumhaw is a large shrub or small tree frequently encountered in or near seasonally wet areas in Central and East Texas. Fairly nondescript in summer, female plants with their red, orange, or yellow fruit can become a blaze of color in the fall and winter landscape. It is the widest ranging of all Texas hollies and can adapt to a wide range of soil conditions. It can be grown in shade, but it fruits best in partial shade to full sun. Females need a male pollinator for good fruit set.

Possumhaw growing in Visitor Center landscape at HNWR

The Ladybird site notes that possumhaws can grow to 36' in height, while TAMU says 10' -12', occasionally 20', and 6' - 10' in width.  It is native within a "box" formed along the East Coast from  Virginia to Florida, from Virginia to westward to Kansas and down to Texas and in the states in between. (https://www.plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ILDE)

Watch for possumhaw this winter as you walk the trails at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.

O Little Town of Hagerman

The holidays can be a time for nostalgia and we have been thinking about an old-time Christmas in Hagerman, imagining what it might have been like, in the town of Hagerman, Texas, the little town that was cleared away for the building of Lake Texoma.

School Christmas Pageant
From “Hagerman Schools”, by Gwen Morrison Swadlenak, reprinted in the Herald Democrat column “Other Voices”, July 13, 2008:

Hagerman School - stood near the grove of trees just north of the present-day Visitor Center

… “in about 1920, the school was moved to a two-story brick building…”, “built with three rooms downstairs and an auditorium on the second floor, later doubling as a classroom”. The Hagerman school was used as a cultural center for the community.


“the auditorium of the brick building was the scene of the last closing [other farewells had been held] program with the Christmas tree in 1942.”

Was the program a traditional school Christmas pageant, combining the secular and sacred aspects of the occasion? By the 1930s, secular tunes like “Jingle Bells,” “Up on the Housetop,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” and “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” were already becoming holiday favorites. In addition to “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” which was written in 1934, the 1930s produced this holiday classic, “Winter Wonderland” (1934).


Fireworks

In the South, firecrackers were long used to celebrate Christmas. However, this tradition led to a loss in the town of Hagerman, described in Donna Hunt’s column in the Herald Democrat for July 11, 2012:

“Just before Christmas in 1926, three stores on the east side of the street burned. Exploding fireworks set off by the flames announced the holiday a little prematurely. Children stood by and watched the exploding fireworks that they had thought would be brought to them by Santa Claus.”

According to the article, those stores never re-opened and with the bank’s closing in 1927, the town’s decline began.


Candy

For kids who earned a little, perhaps picking cotton (A Brief History of Hagerman, "A Pioneer Texas Town” by Annette Morrison Catts),the stores might have offered these treats: Candy from the 1920s includes candy delights such as Candy Cigarettes (before they realized ‘real’ cigarettes are bad for us!), Caramel Creams, Chiclets,Clark Bars, Tootsie Rolls, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and more.

Smith Cash Grocery Store, Hagerman, Texas

Christmas Cards

By 1920, Hagerman was a thriving community with a railroad depot, cotton gin, brick bank, a restaurant, post office (established in a home and later moved to a store), a school, a church, an ice-house and two grocery stores.

Did the grocery store offer holiday merchandise such as cards, or were they homemade? According to Wikipedia, during the Victorian era, holiday postcards had been in favor, but by the 1920’s cards with envelopes were again used. First class postage in 1920 was two cents, which would be 25.5 cents adjusted to today’s prices.


Holiday Treats

From "A Brief History of Hagerman", compiled by Dr. Jerry Lincecum:

There was … a large hardware store well-stocked with Daisy Mae butter churns, since many people kept a milk-cow in their own backyards. Cornmeal was another staple, so Hagerman had an old-fashioned noisy mill where corn was crushed and ground. An ice-house presented the means for safe storage of meat and dairy products.

Eggs for Eggnog?

There might have been fresh citrus from the Texas Valley in time for the holidays (In 1919 The California Fruit Growers Exchange began burning 'Sunkist' on their oranges - the first trademarked fresh fruit - Food Reference.com).  

Mail Order Gifts

(Also from Dr. Lincecum) For the founding Smith brothers, the name of the town was a foregone conclusion, since the MKT Railroad switch there was already named the Hagerman Switch (after an official of the railroad). It was a favorite stop for the train because of good water from the springs nearby. Mail would have come in by train to be distributed through the local post office.

Eerily predictive of the online shopping boom of our times, “By the early part of the twentieth century, the mail-order retailing business had become a major sector of the American economy, through which millions of rural consumers purchased a variety of goods. By 1919, Americans were buying over $500 million worth of goods a year from mail-order companies (roughly half of this business went to Wards and Sears alone). The millions of bulky mail-order catalogs sent from Chicago to points around the country had become important cultural documents, with significance that went beyond the purely economic. Particularly in rural areas, which were still home to half of the American population as late as 1920, the catalogs served not only as a marketing tool, but also as school readers, almanacs, symbols of abundance and progress, and objects of fantasy and desire."


Church Services

Originally meeting in a school or in homes, members of Hagerman Presbyterian Church moved into their first building in 1905 (see photo below). The church building was shared with both the Methodist and the Baptist congregations and for years was considered the community, or “union” church. In 1922, the Hagerman Baptist Church congregation moved to their own building, which was later moved to the present day site at the intersection of Refuge Road and Terry Lane, and has since been replaced by a newer structure. The original Presbyterian church building was later moved to Denison by the Hyde Park Presbyterian congregation. ("A Brief History of Hagerman, A Pioneer Texas Town” by Annette Morrison Catts)

Season's Greetings, from the Friends of Hagerman NWR




NOTE; This blog has been updated from the original, posted  December 24, 2015.

Beyond the Butterfly Garden at Year End, Part II

By Laurie Sheppard

Butterflies can be found at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge during any month or season, and throughout the year, visitors are encouraged to look beyond the Butterfly Garden to find them. As 2017 draws to a close, 89 species of butterflies have been documented by citizen scientists in Grayson County and of those, 84 have been found and verified on the refuge. In a blog last month, six new species found on the refuge this year were described. Here are seven more. 

Perhaps the most unexpected butterfly found this spring is the Frosted Elfin. This butterfly has a conservation status of G3 which means it is localized and threatened throughout its range. The larval host of the Frosted Elfin is Wild Indigo or Lupine which grows throughout the large open area bordering Sandy Point Road. This species flies only in spring, timed to coincide with the blooms of the host plants where it lays its eggs. Frosted Elfin caterpillars feed on the lupine’s blooms and seed pods, and their chrysalids hibernate in the litter beneath the plant awaiting the next spring.

Frosted Elfin by Laurie Sheppard

The Hoary Edge is typically found from Central Texas to the Atlantic coast. It is a dark butterfly of open woodland and brushy areas and was likely overlooked before at the refuge. Adult males perch on branches about 3-6 feet off the ground and may fly out repeatedly, then return to the same perch. Hoary Edge butterflies are known to frequent Oak woods with sandy soil such as the area between Oil Field Road and Sandy Point Road.  Larval hosts are all in the pea family, but adults will nectar on milkweed and buttonbush, among other flowers.

Hoary Edge by Laurie Sheppard

Two very similar species of small, dark brown skippers have been identified on the refuge. Called “Cloudywings”, they are often difficult to differentiate.  The Confused Cloudywing has more prominent glassy spots than the more common Northern Cloudywing and its spots may not be aligned. Confused Cloudywings are most easily found in open areas and at the edge of woods, nectaring on low flowers in early to mid-spring, although they do produce multiple broods.

Confused Cloudywing by Laurie Sheppard

Eastern Comma is another “look-alike” butterfly and is difficult to differentiate from the familiar Question Mark. While their territories overlap, the Comma prefers moist woods and riparian edges; the Question Mark is often found in open areas, backyards, parks, and streamsides. Eastern Comma lacks two distinguishing marks seen on the Question Mark. On the forewing, both have a row of three dots extending out from the butterfly’s body, but the Question Mark has a “dash” after the dots. The Eastern Comma lacks the dash. Underneath, both have a curved white line resembling a comma, but the Question Mark also has a white dot, like the punctuation mark for which it’s named.

Eastern Comma by Laurie Sheppard

Dion Skipper is an orange-brown grass skipper that is reportedly found in scattered populations along the east coast and infrequently from Kansas City to Dallas. Its distinguishing characteristic is a pair of pale rays extending from its body toward the tip of its hindwing. Like many other skippers, Dion Skipper adults feed on Thistle and Buttonbush but their larval hosts are various sedges. Adults fly only in late spring through summer. Their third-stage caterpillars hibernate in winter, emerging in spring to finish feeding and pupate.

Dion Skipper by Laurie Sheppard

In late summer, some butterflies of south Texas stray northward and find our Butterfly Garden. This year one such visitor was the Long-tailed Skipper. Striking first because of its long brown tails, it also exposes a blue-green iridescence on its upper surface when it perches with its wings open. Adults feed on Bougainvillea in the south, but also on Lantana which blooms late in the season in our garden.

Long-tailed Skipper by Dale Clark

Another exciting garden visitor this fall was the Theona Checkerspot. This butterfly is native to Central America, Mexico, and the foothills and canyons of southern Texas and New Mexico. In size and coloring, the Theona Checkerspot is similar to the Phaon Crescent but the wide pattern of cream-colored spots and lack of a hindwing border that includes black dots is very different. The underside, if you are lucky enough to see it, is a striking pattern of orange and white stripes. This butterfly is only a temporary stray and may not be found every year.

 

Theona Checkerspot by Laurie Sheppard

Turkey On My Mind

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin nominated the turkey to be the national bird of the United States of America?

And that President Abraham Lincoln started the tradition of a White House pardon for a turkey on Thanksgiving – the impetus? His son Tad made friends with the turkey that was to be on the Thanksgiving menu (later named Jack!). Naming "dinner" is never a good idea.

The domestic turkey we are familiar with is descended from a subspecies that is now extinct.  There are five subspecies of the wild turkey: Eastern, Osceola, Rio Grande (shown below), Merriam’s and Gould’s.

Photos by Monica Muil

The wild turkeys at Hagerman NWR are Rio Grande (named for the general area in which they are found –the central plains states) and there are a number of flocks at the Refuge.  But this has not always been the case. By the late 1800’s, turkeys throughout Texas had been hunted to very low numbers. Then hunters stepped in to support conservation and restoration, and now thanks to individuals, to legislation and to organizations like the National Wild Turkey Federation, hunting regulations and better habitat management practices have allowed turkey populations to steadily increase in most areas.    Now more than seven million wild turkeys roam America’s woodlands. 

Several flocks of turkeys use habitat on and adjacent to the Refuge including brushy areas next to streams and the lake, or mixed oak forests near the creeks. At Hagerman, turkeys are sometimes visible along field edges or roadsides with trees and like to forage for insects and seeds in wooded areas.

Photo by Dick Malnory

An adult female turkey is called a hen. Hens generally weigh between 8 and 11 pounds. Female turkeys less than one-year-old are called a jenny. Like many other birds, the females’ feathers are more subdued in color than the males’, allowing them to better blend in with their surroundings.

Female turkeys weigh about 10 pounds while males tip the scales at closer to 20.   An adult male turkey is called a gobbler. The name comes from the sound they make in spring, to attract the hens during the mating season. Their iridescent feathers have a green-coppery sheen to them with the tips of the tail and lower back feathers being light tan. Male turkeys are known for their “beards” which are actually bristly tassels rather than feathers and grow for life instead of molting.  A male under one year of age is called a jake.

Wild turkeys can run or fly. They can run up to 19 mph for short distances. They usually fly only short distances but at speeds of up to 55 mph. They prefer the borders between woodlands and field, which provide low cover for nesting, trees for roosting and for their food source.  Wild turkeys prefer to nest in grass or brush at least 18 inches tall and usually lay 10-11 eggs that hatch in 28 days.  The young turkeys (poults) are up and running behind the hen within the first 24 hours.   Generally ground dwellers, there is a high mortality rate on poults by critters including bobcats, foxes, snakes, raccoons, and hogs, so safe night roosting sites are critical to turkey survival. Turkeys typically seek trees that are 40 feet or taller and tend to roost in groups.

Young turkeys favor insects for their diet. As they mature, mast such as acorns, pecans, and berries, along with various seeds and grains, becomes the primary diet for the wild turkey.

Although you may see turkeys any time of year, spring is an especially good time to look for these unique birds. Males can often be seen strutting around and fanning their tail feathers in hopes of impressing the ladies. When you visit Hagerman, keep an eye out for signs of wild turkeys by looking for scratching in the dirt or leaves, spotting their large three-toed footprint, or listen for gobbling sounds coming from the woods.

Wild turkeys are not migratory and often live out their lifespan within five miles of their hatching site.

Happy Turkey Day from the Friends of Hagerman!

National Wildlife Refuge Week begins October 8 and wraps up at Hagerman NWR with Butterfly Day on October 14.  Let's see how much you know about the national wildlife refuges right here in our own state of Texas! Answers at the bottom of the page, but no peeking! AND - try to make it out to Hagerman NWR during Refuge week! 

Trivia Quiz - National Wildlife Refuges in Texas

1. Oldest national wildlife refuge in Texas:

A. Hagerman

B. Aransas

C. Muleshoe

2. Largest national wildlife refuge in Texas:

A. Anahuac

B. Aransas

C. Brazoria

3. National wildlife refuge protecting ocelots in Texas:

A. Balcones Canyonlands

B. Laguna Atascosa

C. Texas Point

4. The largest maternal colony of Rafinesque’s big-eared bats documented in Texas can be found roosting within this refuge:

A. McFadden

B. Neches River

C. Trinity River

5. The wetlands of this refuge include cypress trees up to 400 years old:

A. Caddo

C. Buffalo Lake

B. Big Boggy

6. These 3 national wildlife refuges have been designated as constituting an “Internationally Significant Shorebird Site”:

A. Balcones Canyonlands, Trinity River, Neches River

B. Big Boggy, San Bernard, Brazoria

C. Hagerman, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Trinity River

7. The federally endangered Golden-Cheeked Warbler is a management priority at:

A. Moody

B. Little Sandy

C. Balcones Canyonlands

8. The national wildlife refuge known for wintering Whooping Cranes is

A. Buffalo Lake

B. Aransas

C. McFadden

9.  This refuge was home to the Karankawas in 10 -12,000 B.C. E.

A. Texas Point

B. Santa Ana

C. Hagerman

10.  The national wildlife refuge named for one of the last populations of an endangered species is_____________________NWR.

Note: This quiz originally appeared in the August, 2015, edition of the Featherless Flyer, the newsletter of the Friends of Hagerman. 

Answers:  1.C;   2.B;   3.B;   4.C;   5.A;   6.B;   7.C;  8.B;   9.A;   10. Attwater Prairie Chicken