Saturday Morning at Hagerman's Visitor Center

A gray chilly morning...wonder if we will have any visitors this morning...We did see two does in a field south of Refuge Road as we drove in, instantly making the whole effort worthwhile!

Then, shortly after we put out the "Open" flag, the first visitor arrived, out photographing wildlife. He showed us some of his pix on his camera view screen and voila, we saw that 18 American White Pelicans are now in at the Refuge.

Next a small group came in, members of Texoma Trails Alliance, gathering for a group hike. They were interested in the printed Refuge trail guides and looking at the various items in the nature exhibit area. Once everyone arrived, they walked the Harris Creek Trail and brought in some white goose feathers picked up on the trail before leaving for the day; they saw no geese but at least had "evidence" geese had been there!

Another photographer came in toting the largest lens we had ever seen! She was very excited about trying out this newest addition to her camera equipment, and received many admiring oohs and ahhs.

Among other visitors was a couple from New Mexico, who traveled to this area for a family celebration. They had recently been birding in Coast Rica and were awed by the birds seen there, but they also enjoyed watching birds at the Refuge feeder.

An Eagle Scout candidate came to check in before working on his project, replacement of benches along Harris Creek Trail.

Our last group for the morning was a youth group from West Sherman Baptist Church; they came to hike one of the trails. We were excited to see these young people interested in being outdoors and in learning about nature. Someday they will be the volunteers in the Vistor Center at Hagerman.

The Visitor Center hours are 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Saturday, and 1 - 4 p.m., Sunday. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day .

To download guides to each of the five trails at Hagerman NWR, go to http://www.friendsofhagerman.com/ - Click for NEWS and then About Hagerman. (Photo - American White Pelicans at Refuge, by Rick Cantu)

Weekly Bird Survey at Hagerman NWR

On Tuesday morning at 8 a.m., an eager crew of birders rolls out in the Refuge van to do a bird survey at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. Refuge Volunteer Karl Haller has been the “designated driver” each week for many years, for these bird census outings at Hagerman, and he also recorded sightings on both Tuesday and Thursday surveys. While Karl continues to drive, the survey is now conducted once weekly and Jack Chiles is the official recorder. Here are highlights from the count January 5:

2,500 geese, 20 gadwall, 70 pintail, 50 green winged teal, 20 bufflehead, 15 hooded merganser, 15 canvasback, 12 turkey, 20 horned grebe, 5 pied-bill grebe, 3 eared grebe, 6 red shouldered hawk, 8 coot, 12 yellowlegs, 4 killdeer, 4 least sandpiper, 700 ring billed gull, 12 flicker, 2,000+ horned lark, 7 cedar waxwing, 3 American pipit, 40 Harris’s sparrow, 50 chipping sparrow, 250 meadowlark

With Jack’s help, Grace and Michael Haight are creating a computerized file of the records from past years, as well as current data.

Wondering how you count 2500 geese or 2000 horned larks? There is a method – isolate one area of geese with say, 15-20 birds in that area, count them, then estimate the number of similar size areas taken up by the flock; multiply the count from the first area x the number of similar areas = bird count. Birds not in large flocks are counted individually.

Local birding volunteers are joined from time to time by birding visitors from all over the country. These groups complete their rounds by 1 p.m., but there is no rush to lunch, as the crew is well fortified with homemade cookies by the end of the ride. There is also some history behind the statistics. For example, the number of trips per year was reduced in 2007, 2008, and 2009 by the flooding of Lake Texoma, and the most unusual bird sighting has been the pair of whooping cranes that visited the Refuge in December, 2007.

Hats off to these volunteers for recording bird history at Hagerman NWR. To keep up with the weekly survey highlights, visit the Friends of Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page or http://www.friendsofhagerman.com/. Reports are usually posted each Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning For information about Hagerman NWR, see http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/hagerman/index.html.

Photo Collage by Grace & Michael Haight