Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge
/Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge is near Sherman, TX – just a little off the road trip route from my home in Missouri to my parents in Carrollton, TX. I stopped last time I drove down to Carrollton. I had been to Hagerman once before and was reasonably sure it would be worth it….and I wasn’t disappointed. My goal was see as much as possible in an hour or so. I drove the Auto Tour Route and stopped at the visitor center. I saw quite a few birds!
Great Blue Herons. They are probably a population that stays in the area most of the year.
Snow Geese. These are wintering birds. Only part of the expected number had shown up by last week. There are two morphs (white and blue) and potentially some hybrids…juveniles too. Ross’s Geese are mixed in with the flock. They are smaller and have smaller bill…no ‘grinning patch’ on the bill.
Canada Geese are mixed in with the snow geese as well
Northern Pintail were on the water…looking for food.
Northern Shovelers were skimming the surface of the water for food in the shallow water.
A lone Killdeer looked on from the edge of the water.
A Greater Yellowlegs was too intent on finding lunch in the shallows to notice the activity elsewhere.
There were two birds that were migrating through the area:
A White-faced Ibis --- almost hidden by the vegetation but the feathers were iridescent enough draw my attention.
Greater White-fronted Geese were there in large enough numbers to notice…and looked different than any of the other geese!
Overall – a worthwhile stop. I’ll do it again….and explore different parts of the refuge each time. I have a map I picked up at the visitor center than will allow me to plan my next visit!
