Friends of Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

09/13/2026

💦🐸 WATER YOU WAITING FOR? 🐸💦

Refuge Rocks: Wonderful Water is coming up Saturday, September 19!

We’ll splash into the wonderful world of water and discover why every drop matters to the plants, animals, and habitats at Hagerman! 💧🦆🐢

📅 Saturday, Sept. 19
⏰ 10:00–11:30 AM
👧🧒 Ages 5–10
📍 Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

Come learn, explore, and have some wonderfully WET fun! 💦. Sign up at:

https://friendsofhagerman.com/event-6819496

09/13/2026

Those messy webs in the trees right now? They aren’t worms—they’re caterpillars!

​It’s that time of year when Fall Webworms start building their massive, silky tents in our pecan and hardwood trees. While they might look like a sign of an dying tree, they are actually a fascinating part of the late-summer ecosystem. They will become a small white moth.

​Before you reach for the loppers or the pesticides, here is what you need to know:

​It's Mostly Cosmetic
Because webworms show up in late summer and early fall, the tree has already done its heavy lifting for the year. It has absorbed the sunlight it needs and stored its energy. The leaves they are munching on were going to drop off in a few weeks anyway! A healthy tree will easily bounce back next spring. They rarely kill a tree unless it is already severely compromised.

​The Cure is Worse Than the Disease
Many people try to fix the problem by hacking off branches, which permanently ruins the structure and look of the tree. Others resort to harsh chemical sprays—but this creates a much bigger problem. Sprays can contaminate the nuts the tree produces, and worse, they poison the food chain. When birds or other wildlife eat the poisoned caterpillars, those toxins are passed directly to them.
​
The Natural (and Free!) Solution
Webworms are an important food source for birds and beneficial insects, but that silk web acts like a protective fortress. If you really want them gone, the best thing you can do is grab a long stick or a fishing pole and simply poke a few holes in the web.

​By tearing open their tent, you invite natural predators right in. Paper wasps and local birds will happily take care of the rest!

09/10/2026

Ever wonder why you see squirrels all over town, but hardly ever spot one at Hagerman NWR?
​If you feel like squirrels magically vanish the moment you drive through the refuge gates, you’re not imagining things! While we definitely have fox squirrels calling Hagerman home, spotting one here is a whole different ballgame.

​Here is why they seem to disappear:
​The "City Squirrel" Advantage
Outside the refuge, neighborhood squirrels live life on easy mode. Backyards offer endless bird feeders, open trash bins, manicured trees, and fence-line "superhighways" to travel on. With plenty of easy calories and fewer natural predators, urban squirrel populations boom. They get bold, fat, and used to being seen!

​Refuge Life is No Walk in the Park
Inside Hagerman, life is wilder and far more dangerous. The refuge is a haven for birds of prey—from resident red-tailed hawks, barred owls, and northern harriers to wintering bald eagles. Add in coyotes and bobcats, and being a visible squirrel on the refuge is an invitation to dinner. Refuge squirrels survive by staying hidden, quiet, and tucked tightly into the thick tree canopies.

Wetlands First, Woodlands Second
Hagerman’s 11,000+ acres are primarily managed as wetlands, shallow marshes, open water, and croplands for migratory waterfowl like geese and ducks. Hardwood forests (where squirrels find acorns, pecans, and hollows) make up only a fraction of the total habitat.

​Next time you’re hiking the wooded trails, look high into the branches—they're up there watching, even if they aren't hopping right across your path like their suburban cousins!

Thank you Mick Jobert from the Friends of Hagerman Photography Club for the amazing photos.

09/08/2026

Hot temperatures continue and more mudflats are appearing each day. Tern numbers are good with a count of 213 Forster's Terns, 48 Least Terns, and 3 Black Terns. Off of Plover pad from near the pump jacks we were surprised to see a couple of Immature Yellow-crowned Night Herons sitting on some logs. Egrets are present in good numbers with 104 Snowy Egrets, 133 Great Egrets and 29 Western Cattle Egrets. We saw 3 Tricolored Herons. We had an Acadian Flycatcher on the road to Plover pad. Purple Martins are still present in good numbers with a count of 172 today. We saw the first couple of Green-winged Teals of the season. We saw 7 Wild Turkeys on our way into the refuge. Shorebirds seen today included 3 American Avocets, 24 Killdeer, 4 Upland Sandpipers, 3 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, 5 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 7 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, 108 Least Sandpipers, 6 Western Sandpipers and 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers. We had 3 immature White Ibises at Deaver Pond and a couple of Red-headed Woodpeckers. We finished the day with 75 species.

09/05/2026

If you're surprised by all the mud out at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge right now, a quick look at the lake elevation numbers explains why!

Lake Texoma is sitting right around 616 ft, just below normal pool (617 ft). That might not sound like a huge drop, but because the refuge sits across a shallow, gradual river delta where the bottom elevation ranges from 610 to 615 ft, even a foot or two of water loss exposes massive stretches of lake bottom.

Here is how elevation shapes what you see across the refuge:

610–615 ft | Refuge Lake Bed: Very flat, shallow terrain. When the lake hovers around 616 ft, inches of difference mean acres of exposed mudflats.

617 ft | Normal Conservation Pool: Water covers the flats up to the natural shoreline.

618–621 ft | Low-Lying Crossings & Drives: North Low Water Crossing goes under first at 618 ft, followed by the Tern Road crossover (619 ft), Bennett Lane West (620 ft), and Wildlife Drive/Raasch Trail (621 ft).

625–634 ft | Upper Trails & Facilities: Meadow Pond Trail (625 ft), Harris Creek (627 ft), and up to the Visitor Center driveway (634 ft) stay high and dry until major flood events.

While the low water leaves behind wide mudflats, it creates prime foraging grounds for migrating shorebirds, wading herons, and egrets probing the newly exposed shoreline. Bring your spotting scope, but definitely leave the street shoes at home!

https://www.twdb.texas.gov/hydro_survey/Texoma/2002-07/ContourMap.pdf

09/04/2026

Annual Photo Club Contest - come and get the scoop!

09/04/2026

Crow Hill Trail is closed for safety reasons until repairs can be made at the culvert crossing. It’s hard to tell in the photo but there is a 4 foot drop off in the middle of the trail due to a major wash-out.

09/03/2026

09/01/2026

Due to the hot weather there are a lot more mudflats appearing and they are being used by shorebirds and terns. The shorebirds are spread out over lots of areas of the refuge. Today we saw 6 Marbled Godwits, 26 Killdeer, 2 American Avocets, 1 Semipalmated Plover, 5 Upland Sandpipers, 5 Wilson's Phalaropes, 6 Spotted Sandpipers, 16 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Willet, 3 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Stilt Sandpipers, 9 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, 147 Least Sandpipers, 25 Pectoral Sandpipers, 1 Western Sandpiper and 12 Semipalmated Sandpipers for a total of 16 shorebird species. We saw our second Olive-sided Flycatcher of the summer at the Goode area. We had a couple of Orchard Orioles at Dead Woman Pond. We had an early migrating sparrow species, a Chipping Sparrow on the road to Meadow Pond. We saw a total of 3 Belted Kingfishers. We counted 125 Least Terns, 96 Forster's Terns and 6 Black Terns. We finished the day with 75 species.

08/27/2026

The Sandy Point bank stabilization project is going well although there have been several heavy equipment breakdowns that had to be repaired which caused some delays. The dirt moving is mostly done and next comes placement of the underlayment fabric then adding large riprap and a foot access path. At least two more weeks of work will be needed and we will keep you updated! A huge thank you to the staff from Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge who are enduring this heat 12-14 hours a day to get this project done! Short video in the comments section.