FRIENDS OF HAGERMAN NWR

FEATHERLESS FLYER OCTOBER, 2019

VOLUME 14, ISSUE 10

Blackland Prairie Raptors to Visit Hagerman NWR Visitors of the Refuge on October 19th will be treated to un up-close look at a falcon, hawks, owls and kites from

the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center as part of The Refuge Roundup day of family activities.

Blackland Prairie Raptor Center is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to environmental preservation through public education and the conservation of birds of prey in their natural habitat. Founded in 2004, BPRC has reached more than 350,000 people through interactive educational outreach programs. With non-releasable raptor ambassadors, BPRC introduces its visitors to the habitats of Texas and the unique characteristics of birds of prey. It also teaches people on how they can play a role in respecting and pro-tecting raptors in their natural environment. BPRC’s rap-tors include hawks, owls, falcons and kites. BPRC is also a raptor rehabilitation center that re-ceives injured birds of prey from all over north Texas.

(Continued on page 5)

HIGH ON THE HAWG BBQ

and Silent Auction is Back!!

October 26, 4:00pm—7:00pm Adults, $20/Age 12 and under, $10

Enjoy the music! Door Prizes!

Check out these silent auction items!

Last year’s event was a huge success! Thanks Go To Alan Lusk For The Photos

FALL ASTER BY AMBER GRUBB

The Fall Aster is one of

those small mounded bushes that continues to bloom in the Fall

when other plants have run out of steam. Asters flower as a re-

sponse to the shortening days of Fall and usually begin at the end

of September and continue to bloom until the first frost. They are

an evergreen perennial and mound about 2 to 3 feet and the flow-

ers are blue and daisy-like.

Fall asters have the attributes of attracting butterflies, are a

Texas native, deer resistant and need little water making them an

excellent xeriscape plant. They will pop in your Fall landscape if

planted beside mums, as blue is not a natural color for mums.

Asters flower at the height of monarch butterfly migration season and are a frequent way station for these insects along with many other butterflies. They are also a huge bee magnet, so pay attention to where you plant these. Asters are drought tolerant, more so than mums, but during long periods of drought the foliage may turn yellow, so provide irrigation equal to one inch of rain per week during dry spells. Asters should be planted in full or partial sun. Too much shade and they will become leggy. They should be planted in slightly acidic soil, so if your soil is alkaline it can be corrected by adding compost. If you have heavy clay consider planting Asters in raised beds or double dig the soil. If planted early enough in Fall the root system will develop enough to make it through the winter frosts. Also be sure to properly space your plants to ensure air circulation and avoid overhead watering. This should keep Rust and powdery mildew disease from your asters. Once all the blooms are spent, Asters can be cut back and divided to plant in other areas of your garden. They should be thinned regularly to control spreading. “ Jessie Gunn Stephens wrote in her book When to do What in Your Texoma Garden the following about what she calls “Texas Aster”

”Blooms: lavender-blue daisies cover the plant from September till Mid-November Height/Spacing: 1 to 2 feet Exposure Full sun to afternoon shade Winter: green rosette Maintenance: cut back dead stems after hard-freeze Uses: Fall color, cutting, butterfly lure How to Plant: small transplants in spring A staple of the late fall garden. Looks great with yellow fall blooms, like tagetes lucida, solidago, or even chrysanthemums. East Texans call this “The Last Rose of Summer”, since it’s often the last thing blooming in the cottage garden. Will reseed.”

Get your copy of: When To do What In Your Texoma Garden by Jessie Gunn Stephens For sale now in the Visitor Center’s Nature Nook

All Aboard!

Enjoy a guided tour of the refuge

aboard our all-electric Carlos and

Eulalia Cardinal Express while

learning about the historic town

of Hagerman—with

frequent stops to view and pho-

tograph wildlife, especially birds.

Bring the family! Saturdays and

Sundays at 2:00pm

Reservations Recommended (903) 786-2826

Thank you, Amber Grubb

P. 2

https://npsot.org/wp/wilco/2013/06/09/seasonal-

blooms-late-may-and-early-june-2013/

Neil Holmes/Oxford Scientific/Getty Images

P. 3

Sign up at https://www.friendsofhagerman.com/contact

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE WEEK, OCTOBER 13-19, 2019

HAGERMAN NW REFUGE ROUNDUP, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19TH

See Artist Dale

Adkins at work!

See Page 7

for Details!

Sept 10: It was another unseasonably hot day but there

was a breeze blowing which helped a bit. We are still in a

lull in bird activity especially shorebird activity. We did see 19 Western Sandpipers in one

group, along with 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper and 1 Baird's Sandpiper. On the way back

from Meadow Pond we got great looks at an Olive-sided Flycatcher sallying out from the

top of a dead tree catching insects. We found the immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

(pictured) once again at Meadow Pond. On the extreme west side of the refuge we saw

a late season Grasshopper Sparrow sitting on a fence, singing. We found 1 Baltimore

Oriole on the road to Goode and a Belted Kingfisher at Dead Woman Pond. We finished

the day with 56 species.

Sept 17: It was still unseasonably hot today but bird activity was good early on. We

found 5 species of swallows in the Sesbania drummondii(Rattlebox), tall plants in the

south end of Mineral Marsh. Swallows that we could identify were, Cave in good num-

bers, Cliff, Barn, Tree and Bank. They were sitting on the tops of the tall vegetation,

preening in good light which made them very easy to ID. Just as we started to proceed after viewing the swallows we

had a flyby Peregrine Falcon. Steedman Marsh had lots of White-faced Ibis and egrets. Egrets and herons are nu-

merous in most of the marshy areas. On our way to Meadow Pond we found a Red-headed Woodpecker in Deaver

Pond. That seems to be the best place to locate them now. They stay in the far back side of Deaver Pond. There we

also saw a Belted Kingfisher. We found Wood Ducks and Yellow-

crowned Night-Herons at Meadow Pond. We heard a Pileated

Woodpecker calling there also. There was a flyby Bald Eagle at

Sandy Point. We found 10 species of Shorebirds mostly in Steed-

man and Mineral marshes but not large numbers of any species

except Least Sandpipers. We found a couple of Solitary Sandpi-

pers near the low water crossing at the corner on Bennett Rd.

We finished the day with 61 species. Photo is of the pair of Soli-

tary Sandpipers we saw today. They have greenish legs, brown-

ish spotted backs and large white eyerings, not to be confused

with Spotted Sandpipers that are spotted only on the underside.

Solitary Sandpipers are usually seen alone or in small groups.

Sept 24: As we started our census water was much in evidence as the refuge has received over 5" of rain in the last

few days. Shorebird numbers were low with 7 American Avocets, 1 Black-bellied Plover, 1 Least Sandpiper, 6 Spot-

ted Sandpipers, 1 Dowitcher species and 19 Killdeer. When we ven-

tured down the road to Meadow Pond we were elated to find Lucy,

the female Bald Eagle sitting in a tree at Deaver Pond. At Meadow

Pond we found a good number of Wood Ducks with a total of 26

for the day. We also saw 3 Northern Shovelers, the first of the sea-

son. We had a fly over Osprey and Broad-winged Hawk on the far

West side of the refuge. We found an Olive-sided Flycatcher on the

crossover road from C pad to Sandy Point Road. We saw Red-

headed Woodpeck-

ers in a couple of

places including

Deaver Pond. We

also saw 2 Pileated Woodpeckers in flight. About mid morning we

started seeing flights of American White Pelicans flying in soaring on

the thermals. At the end of the day there was an accumulation of

some 2500 or more in Harris Creek Marsh feeding on fish. We fin-

ished the day with 54 species. Photo: American White Pelicans

BIRDING WITH JACK Thank You Jack Chiles

What else did they See??

See the most recent

Weekly Bird and

Butterfly Census

Results in their entirety

on Page 6 or visit: www.friendsofhagerman.com/BirdSurvey

P. 4

Since its inception in 2015 it has taken in more than 3,000 patients from 28 different species including some rare raptors like a Snowy Owl and Bald Eagle. BPRC averages 600 patients a year putting it in the top 10 in the country based on quantity. Additionally, thanks to the funds raised at the annual Gala in 2018, BPRC purchased digital x-ray and anesthe-sia machines to make the triage and treatment process more efficient and cost-effective. The 2019 Gala plans to continue this expansion of its clinic capabilities with additional equipment.

The release rate of injured, sick and orphaned raptors is 80% which is a higher than average percentage based on raptor centers across the country. BPRC is located on a 66 acres leased from the Army Corps of Engineers known as Brockdale Park. All the work done by BPRC is because of the support of private donations, grants and corporate sponsors. Come See The Impressive Raptors! Details on Page 7 Back to Page 1

Volunteer of the Month:

Thank You Bill and Kathy Nance

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

Thank You To Our Contributors: Jack Chiles, Amber Grubb, Laurie Sheppard Special thanks to the Blackland Praire Raptor Center for publicity article and pictures Refuge Manager: Kathy Whaley Refuge Liaison: Paul Balkenbush General Biologist: Courtney Anderson

P. 5

Kathy Nance began volunteering at Hagerman NWR in the fall of 2015 in

the butterfly garden and as a butterfly docent. Currently Kathy is involved every

Wednesday in the butterfly garden and with the bluebird program in the summer.

Bill has been involved with the Bluebird program for the last 2 years. 3.

Their favorite part of volunteering is the fact that there are so many who

love the refuge enough to help make it a place others can enjoy. From those

who greet us when we enter the visitor center, to those who help with the many

public programs, as well as those who work behind the scenes.

In 2012 the Nance’s were monitoring and photographing the nesting eagle

family at John Bunker Sands Wetland Center in Seagoville, TX. We started an

annual Eagle Walk and Talk to the nest in 2014, and have led 6 walks to date.

The volunteer of the month is chosen based on years of volunteer service at

Hagerman (at least one year), frequency of volunteering (at least twice per

month) and must have made a standout contribution.

Click here to for detailed information about our volunteer opportunities or

contact friendsofhagerman@gmail.com to learn how to join our team!

Blackland Prairie Raptors, From Page 1

It seems like the heat of summer will never end! The butterflies are suffering,

too, and many continue to hide. Each day is different though, and as fall

flowers begin to bloom, you ’ll find the butterflies in a feeding frenzy. Gregg ’s

Mistflower, Frostweed, and Fall Asters are among the best for attracting

Sulphurs, Queens, and Monarchs. If you see something in the garden you can't

identify and want some help, send a photo to friendsofhagerman@gmail.com.

Butterflies Seen This Week in the Butterfly Garden:

Clouded Skipper

Cloudless Sulphur

Dainty Sulphur

Dun Skipper

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Fiery Skipper

Gray Hairstreak

Gulf Fritillary

Hackberry Emperor

Little Yellow

Monarch

Phaon Crescent

Queen

Sleepy Orange

Variegated Fritillary

Canada Goose 21

Wood Duck 26

Blue-winged Teal 25

Northern Shoveler 3

Mallard 31

Mourning Dove 9

Chimney Swift 1

Ruby-throated/Black-

chinned Hummingbird 1

American Avocet 7

Black-bellied Plover 1

Killdeer 19

Least Sandpiper 1

Short-billed/Long-billed

Dowitcher 1

Spotted Sandpiper 6

Neotropic Cormorant 15

Double-crested Cormo-

rant 1

American White Peli-

can 2500

Great Blue Heron 21

Great Egret 58

Snowy Egret 21

Little Blue Heron 5

Cattle Egret 194

White Ibis 3

White-faced Ibis 13

Black Vulture 34

Turkey Vulture 29

Osprey 1

Bald Eagle 1

Red-shouldered Hawk 3

Broad-winged Hawk 1

Swainson's Hawk 1

Belted Kingfisher 4

Red-headed Woodpeck-

er 3

Red-bellied Woodpecker 1

Pileated Woodpecker 2

American Kestrel 8

Olive-sided Flycatcher 1

Eastern Phoebe 1

Eastern Kingbird 1

Scissor-tailed Flycatch-

er 11

White-eyed Vireo 1

Loggerhead Shrike 1

Blue Jay 4

American Crow 15

Carolina Chickadee 2

Tufted Titmouse 2

Barn Swallow 16

Carolina Wren 3

European Starling 2

Northern Mockingbird 1

Eastern Bluebird 14

Lark Sparrow 2

Eastern Meadowlark 1

Red-winged Blackbird 20

Brown-headed Cowbird 3

Northern Cardinal 9

P. 6

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,

for use in research.

Visit www.friendsofhagerman.com/BirdSurvey for the most recent Bird Census results!

Thank you: Jack Chiles, Terry Goode, Carrie Steingruber, Dave Mitchell, Bob Adams, Bill Morgan, Bryan

and Margaret Avard

Plants in Bloom This Week

Tuberous Vervain

(Sandpaper Verbena)

Mealy Blue Sage

Drummond’s Petunia

Texas Lantana

Blackfoot Daisy

Horseherb

Zexmenia

Gaura

Black-eyed Susan

Passion Vine

Frogfruit

Day Flower

(Widow's Tears)

Rock Rose

Sunflower

Gregg’s Mistflower

Turk’s Cap

Flame Acanthus

Autumn Sage

Obedient Plant

Datura (Angel Trumpet)

Boneset

Lindheimer Senna

Prairie Verbena

Prairie Fleabane

Pale Smartweed

Butterfly Weed

(Asclepias tuberosa)

Chili Piquin

Texas Kidneywood

Big Bluestem

Frostweed

Maximillian Sunflower

Bitterweed

Goldenrod

Lord Baltimore Hibiscus

Ironweed

Gayfeather

Lindheimer Mulley

OCTOBER EVENT SHEET

**SPECIAL EVENT: REFUGE ROUNDUP Saturday, October 19 th Come out to the refuge to celebrate National Refuge Week with special activities for the family, including the Blackland Prairie Raptors! • Start this special day by joining Master Naturalist Jack Chiles for a Guided Bird Walk to learn about the birds

that inhabit the Refuge. Meet in the Visitor Center parking lot at 8 a.m.. • See five birds of prey from the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center on the patio of the Visitor’s Center from 10:00-

1:00pm. Questions and photographers welcome! The raptors will include hawks, owls, kites, and a falcon. • Garden Docents will be available in the Butterfly Garden from 12 - 2 p.m. to help identify native plants and but-

terfly species common to the Refuge. Also, attend a Monarch Tagging Demonstration, and let the kids enjoy making a nature craft!

• The Refuge Rocks: Along Came A Spider, Ages 4-6 and 7-10, 10:00-11:30am in the Visitor Center (details be-low)

• Native Plants from the Butterfly Garden will be available for sale in the parking lot from 9 a.m. until 12 noon (or until all the plants are sold).

• Look through the displays at our Volunteer Fair in the Visitor’s Center. Find your areas of interest and sign up to help at the Refuge. 9:00-2:00.

• Tour the Refuge on the Carlos and Eulalia Cardinal Express, for a 60 – 90 minute tour along Wildlife Drive at the Refuge. Enjoy learning about the history of the displaced town of Hagerman while watching for wildlife. Lots of stops for bird-watching and photography. Guided tours will be offered at 10am and 2 p.m. Seating is limited: please call (903)786-2826 between 9:00am and 4:00pm, Mon-Sat, for reservations.

• Join us for lunch in the FOH Building from 12:00-1:00 at Refuge Roundup. $2.50 for a hot dog, chips, cookies, and bottle of water. All proceeds go toward our purchase of a new tram.

• Dale Adkins is known for his illustrations of the Louis L'Amour western novels, as well as his western, native American, famous faces, aviation, classic cars, and wildlife art. Come talk to Dale as he paints an original work outside the Visitor's Center at the Refuge Roundup!

• Much More!!! Refuge Rocks: Along Came A Spider, Saturday, October 19 th, 10:00-11:30am, Ages 4-6 and 7-10 It's no wonder that one of our most popular superheroes is based on a man who has some of the best qualities of spi-ders. They can do some awesome stuff! Some fear them. Others keep them as pets. Either way, nobody can deny that spiders are some of the most intriguing animals around! Almost anyone can identify a spider, but many people are confused about what really makes them different from other animals. The youth will learn some of the spider’s major characteristics and interesting facts in this class about spiders. They will learn why spiders are so important, what makes a spider a spider (8 legs or 6, 2 or 3 body parts?) then make their own craft spiders and weave their own webs! Come join us on October 19 for a free class to learn all about amazing spiders! To sign up - call the refuge at (903) 786-2826 or sign up on the web at www.friendsofhagerman.com.

**SPECIAL EVENT: HIGH ON THE HAWG! Barbecue Fundraiser, Saturday, October 26, 2019, 4:00pm – 7:00pm

The 10th Annual High on the Hawg BBQ and silent auction will be held October 26, from 4-7 p.m. at Hager-man NWR. Come and enjoy pulled pork and all the fixings! Proceeds from this event will go toward the purchase of a new tram, enabling the Friends of Hagerman to continue offering free, educational tours to visitors of the refuge.

This year the event will be held in the shop building: hop on the Carlos and Eulalia Cardinal Tram after park-ing and head straight to the dinner—better yet— do some Christmas shopping in the Nature Nook first!

Our wonderful band will be entertaining us from the shop mezzanine, and The Silent Auction has over 150 excellent items to bid on, including: Day Hopper Passes to Disney World A one-night Stay and Buffet Dinner for Two at Choctaw Casino & Resort A two-night Stay w/Breakfasts and One Round of Golf for Two at Tanglewood

(Continued on page 8)

P. 7

A VIP Tour of AT&T Stadium Four Tickets to the Perot Museum in Dallas Rounds of Golf at Local Golf Clubs A guided Fishing Trip on Lake Texoma Season Tickets for Two @ Sherman Community Players Four 30-minute Massage Therapy Sessions $100 Gift Card to Brookshire's Tickets at the door only, $20 adults, $10 for age 12 and younger. Come and join us! Calling All Gardeners: Volunteers Needed to help with Butterfly Garden Love to work in the garden? Come and help us add plants, weed and mulch our beautiful butterfly garden. Join our team that is on call for Wednesday morning gardening. Provide own tools and gloves. Minimum age 18, or 16 if ac-companied by parent/volunteer. Garden volunteers get first dibs on thinned plants as well as access to seeds and cut-tings for propagation. Email for dates, times and details: friendsofhagerman@gmail.com Butterfly Docent Meeting, October 3rd, 10:00am Do you love butterflies and native plants? Do you enjoy being outdoors and meeting new people? If so, then consider joining a group of volunteers who serve as docents in the Butterfly Garden at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. A meeting for new and returning docents will be held October 3rd, 10:00am at the refuge. Contact the friendsofhager-man@gmail.com for more information. Butterfly Garden Walks, Saturdays, October 5 th and October 19 th, 10:00 to 12:00pm Enjoy a stroll through the Butterfly Garden at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. Come on your own or bring the family. 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: scaven-ger hunts, meet the Metamorphosis Puppet and more. Garden walks are Come and Go or Come and Stay. The garden is free of charge and open to the public during Refuge hours. Outdoor Crew Do you enjoy working outside, mowing, sprucing up hiking trails, trimming and removing brush and general cleanup? Join the Outdoor Crew at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. The Outdoor Crew meets on the First Tuesday and Fourth Saturday of every month. Please email friendsofhagerman@gmail.com for details and to join our team. Scouts welcome!

Early Bird Guided Walk Saturdays, October 12 and October 19 th, 8:00am Master Naturalist Jack Chiles will lead our early bird walk, weather permitting. Meet at the Visitor Center. Bring bin-oculars or borrow ours. Return in time for the Second Saturday program. Free and open to the public. Second Saturday: Bears with Jessica Healy, October 12, 10:00am What do we think we know about black bears? They’re black, right? (Sometimes, but they are also brown or cinnamon or blonde). They hibernate, right? (Kind of – they undergo ‘winter lethargy’, but don’t get as cold or slow as true hi-bernators.) They’re carnivores, right? (Bears are actually omnivores – up to about 85% of their diet is plant material.) Yes, but they eat people, don’t they? (On average, one person per year is killed by a black bear – as opposed to an av-erage of 30-50 people per year killed by dogs.) If you’d like to know more about the world’s most populous bear spe-cies, join Austin College’s mammologist Dr. Jessica Healy on October 12th for this informative program. Free and open to the public. Tram Tours All aboard the all-electric Carlos and Eulalia Cardinal Express for a 60 – 90 minute tour along Wildlife Drive at the Refuge. Enjoy learning about the history of the displaced town of Hagerman while watching for wildlife. Lots of stops for bird-watching and photography. Free (donations accepted). Guided tours are offered at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, weather permitting. Seating is limited: please call (903)786-2826 between 9:00am and 4:00pm, Mon-Sat, for reservations. Standbys are accepted if space permits. Tours are recommended for age 6 - adult.

SPECIAL EVENT: HIGH ON THE HAWG! (Auction Items Continued)

P. 8