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Featherless Flyer The Voice of The Friends of Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge Foundation

October 2014

Volume 9, Issue 10

ON THE CALENDAR

OCT. 4, 2014 YOUTH FIRST!

10 - 11:30 AM “Owls—They’re a Hoot!” Free program for ages 4 -12. Parent or other responsible adult must accompany children age 6 and younger. Register online at www.friendsofhagerman.com/youth or by phone 903-786-2826.

OCT. 11, 2014 SECOND SATURDAY

8 – 9:30 AM “Guided Bird Walk”

Join Master Naturalist Jack Chiles for a guided walk on the Refuge. Bring your binoculars or borrow ours.

10 – 11:30 AM “Ferns of Texas”

Dr. George Diggs, Professor and Botanist at Austin College, will discuss the wide variety of ferns that thrive in Texas.

OCT. 26, 2014 “FAQs About Workamping”

2:30 – 4 PM Thinking of becoming a workamper? Meet two couples who are presently in residence at Hagerman NWR, and learn the who, what, when and where of workamping! Free presentation, no reservation needed. Meet in the Visitor Center at the Refuge. TRAM TOURS CARLOS & EULALIA CARDINAL EXPRESS TRAM TOURS - approximately 90-minutes long along Wildlife Drive. Call 903-786-2826 for reservations. Wednesdays at10 am, and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 PM. All tours weather permitting.

Contents

Butterfly Garden Status P. 1

Butterfly Garden (continued), Coming Next Month, High on the Hawg, Trail Closure Dates P. 2

FAQs about Workamping, Birding with Jack, P. 3

Photo News, Nature Nook, Visitor Center News, P. 4

Friends for TODAY support programs and activities for TOMORROW and ensure that the Refuge will be here for wildlife AND people in the FUTURE!

Butterfly Garden Status

Work on the Butterfly Garden is moving right along! As you can see in the photos, both pergolas are in place, and the bridge now has a waterfall under it. Final grading, paths, irrigation and bed prep will precede planting. We would like to thank our sponsors for making this possible!

Emperor

Dr. & Mrs. Carlos Araoz Dr. Hugh Garnett

Jetta Operating Company

Monarch Drs. Peter & Helen Schulze

Dr. Carlos Araoz, In Memory of Eulalia Araoz National Fish & Wildlife Foundation

(continued on page 2)

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Thanks For

Your Help!

A big thanks to our September presenter Dr. Wayne Meyer of Austin College for his presentation on extinct birds, and Jack Chiles’ bird walk. We would also like to thank those volunteers who led the Youth FIRST program on pond life: Kim Tingle and Martha Floyd aided by Cindy Steele, Doris Floyd and Sue Malnory.

Coming Next Month

Youth First! November 1, 10:00 – 11:30 am

“Animals: Masters of Disguise! Free programs for ages 4-7 and ages 8-12.

Second Saturday

November 8, 10:00 – 11:30 am

“What About the Bobcat” Presented by Dr. Jessica Healy,

Austin College Biology Dept.

!! High on the Hawg 2014 !!

Back for the 5th year! BBQ wild hog and all the trimmings! 4:30 – 8 pm, Saturday, November 15, at the Refuge. Requested donation of $10 per adult meal, $5 for youngsters age 12 and under.

Trail Closure Dates

Harris, Big Mineral and Sandy Units will be closed to the general public on the dates below for the archery deer hunt. This includes Harris Creek Trail, Crow Hill Trail, Meadow Pond Trail, Big Mineral Creek and Sandy Point.

Segment A: Thursday Afternoon, Oct 30 to Sunday Evening, Nov 2

Segment B: Thursday Afternoon, Nov 13 to Sunday Evening, Nov 16

Segment C: Thursday Afternoon, Dec 4 to Sunday Evening, Dec 7

Chuck & Kris Carlson Monica & Charles W. Muil, Jr. Sandra & Fred Freeman Brian & Michelle Blackmon Jon & Rosalee Jenkins Gary Kohls & Karen Niessing Mary J. Blanton Betty Sue Mollenhour Don Makinson Cynthia Brandt

Richard & LuAnne Malnory Lou Ann & Larry Jackson Karen Rice & Chuck Voelker Pearce & Ann W. Bailey Caterpillar Betty & Michael Mitchell Jerry & Kay Bynum Tim & Connie Bryant Anonymous Vernon & Peggy Harlan

Butterfly Garden Status (continued from page 1)

Swallowtail

H. S. (Bert) & Lana Caswell Garcia Clara Blackford Smith & W. Aubrey Smith Charitable Foundation

The Nancy Ruth Fund, in Memory of Sally Warden The Oliver Dewey Mayor Foundation

Painted Lady

Prairie and Timbers Audubon Society, in Memory of Sally Warden Dick & Sue Malnory

Trinity Forks Chapter, Native Plant Society of Texas Sherman Garden Club

Queen

Cathy & John Van Bebber Drs. Jerry Lincecum & Peggy Redshaw

Derek & Sandra Miller Tom & Jean Flick Landmark Bank

Fritillary

Becky Goodman, In Memory of Bob Hamilton Maggie Goodman, In Memory of Gary Goodman

Red Admiral

Gary and Lee Hatfield Doug & Sue Raasch Marilyn Pickens George & Laura Cooper Ann & Ed Supina John & Barbara Denton

Jim & Nancy Russell American Bank of Texas Ron & Diane Varley Chuck & Donna Rogers Alan & Shirley Lusk

Hagerman Tram at Pottsboro Frontier Day, Sept 27

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Wilson’s Snipe photo by Jack Chiles

Red-shouldered Hawk photo by Carl Hill

Birding with Jack

Excerpts from the weekly bird survey write-up by Jack Chiles

September 2, 2014

We found 46 species of birds today. Trying to find shorebirds was very difficult because of all of the vegetation but we did find 30 American Avocets, 4 Stilt Sandpipers, 2 Wilson's phalaropes, 1 Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 least Sandpipers and 27 Killdeer. There were still Green Herons at Deaver and a Belted Kingfisher. Duck numbers are increasing with140 Blue-winged Teal, 20 Mallards and a Northern Pintail. We saw a Loggerhead Shrike near the oil company offices and a White-breasted Nuthatch across from the falling down house. September 9, 2014

At the Goode area and Dead Woman Pond we saw 2 Wilson Warblers both with black crowns and 2 Yellow Warblers. At the bottom of the hill at Goode we saw 3 Wood Ducks and 29 Mallards. A Mississippi Kite was still hanging around Dead Woman Pond. The star of the day was this Greater Roadrunner that almost got in the van with us. It was one of a pair at the top of the hill at Goode.

September 16, 2014

We saw a group of Wild Turkeys on the north side of the refuge. At Dead Woman Pond the Red-headed Woodpeckers were very active. White-faced Ibis were in the marshy areas. The bottom of the big hill at Goode continues to be good for Wood Ducks, Blue-winged Teal and Mallards. From the pads along Wildlife Drive we saw Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers and a Stilt Sandpiper. We saw Baltimore, Orchard Orioles and House Finches on the road to Goode. September 23, 2014

Forster's Terns were flying back and forth over the lake. At Dead Woman Pond there was a second year Bald Eagle that flew up from near the water and landed in a tree in the back. We then saw an Osprey sitting not far from the eagle. There was also a Cooper's Hawk and a Northern Flicker sitting in the trees. On Wildlife drive we had spectacular views of a Merlin up close. We also saw the first Northern Harrier of the season.

Greater Roadrunner Photo by Trey Neal

Photos From Around the Refuge

Photographers (clockwise from right): Steve Jordan, Carl Hill, Jesus Moreno

Green Heron Photo by Pamela Porter

FAQs About Workamping Sunday, October 26, 2:30—4:00 pm

Introducing Lynn and Barry Burkhardt, our newest workampers! This is their first stay at Hagerman NWR. They are joining Bill and Carol Powell who have started their 5th stay at the Refuge. These couples will talk about their experiences as workampers around the country, and will answer any questions you may have about becoming a workamper. This free presentation will be held in the Visitor Center, no reservation required.

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George Cooper, October 2014 Photographer of the Month

The Voice of Friends of Hagerman NWR

Foundation 6465 Refuge Road Sherman, TX 75092

Phone: 903-786-2826

friendsofhagerman@gmail.com http://www.friendsofhagerman.com

http://www.friendsofhagermannwr.blogspot.com/

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge 6465 Refuge Road Sherman, TX 75092

Phone: 903-786-2826

Featherless Flyer

Editor/Publisher: Jan Beckert Contributors: Sue Malnory Jack Chiles Refuge Liaison: Kathy Whaley

Visitor Center News The Refuge office will be closed on Columbus Day, Monday, October 13. Senior and Access Passes will not be available on this day. The Visitor Center will be open from 10 am - 3 PM. Refuge lands are open daily from sunrise to sunset.

VIP’s needed! Our Visitor Center/Nature Nook volunteers are Very Important People who make it possible for the Visitor Center to be open 7 days/week! We have shifts open on weekdays and weekends, 9am-12:30 pm, Monday-Saturday, and 1-5 pm on Sunday afternoons. We provide training and support for volunteers who greet visitors, distribute Refuge literature and make sales in the book/gift shop. Please contact us at friendsofhagerman@gmail.com if this is for YOU!

Best wishes to these Visitor Center volunteers who are “retiring”, Barbara Corbin and Bill Hughes, who have served monthly since 2006, and Donna Niemann, Visitor Center volunteer since 2009 and as assistant manager in the Nature Nook for two years.

The FOH Nature Photography Club

The FOH Nature Photo Club will meet from 12:30 - 2:00 pm, November 8 in the FOH Center (A-V Room) at the Refuge. Meetings are open to anyone interested in nature photography. No admission fee for visitors, nominal membership dues for those who wish to join. Photo Contest winners will be announced at 10 am on November 8, just prior to the Second Saturday program. Calendars with the 2014 winning photographs will go on sale in the Nature Nook following the presentation.

My first real experience with photography began when I answered an ad in the college newspaper for yearbook photographers. I applied even though I knew very little about photography, and with the help of more experienced upperclassmen I had an opportunity to learn all about exposure and composition. In those days, we used a medium format Rolleiflex camera, and we processed our own film. I spent many hours in the darkroom and was pleasantly surprised that some of the many photos I took were actually published in the yearbook.

In the late 70's, I inherited a Canon F-1, a 35mm SLR camera, along with an assortment of lenses, filters and flashes. This equipment served me very well for many years of travel and family photos. Then, for our 40th wedding anniversary, my wife surprised me with my first DSLR camera. Graduating from film to digital photography, and from the darkroom to Lightroom and Photoshop, has been a new challenge! I enjoy nature photography and visit Hagerman NWR often, always finding something new to photograph. From photographing butterflies to bobcats, sunrises to sunsets, it seems that each visit to Hagerman is different. I currently use a Canon 5D Mark III with a Sigma 50-500mm and a Canon 24-105mm.

To view George’s album, go to: www.friendsofhagerman.com/Gallery.

Enjoy what you’ve read? For a free monthly email link to this newsletter, please visit our website at: www.friendsofhagerman.com/Contact

Cool weather is coming! We have a assortment of fun sweatshirts, including “Squirrels for Peace” as shown by Visitor Center volunteer Lacy Price.

Nature Nook