Friends of Hagerman NWR upcoming events

Butterfly Garden Walk (July 25, 2026)

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Enjoy the Butterfly Garden at Hagerman NWR

Garden docents will be on hand to help identify the Texas native plants and visiting butterflies. Literature on plants and butterflies will be available. Special activities for families: scavenger hunts, the Metamorphosis Puppet and more. Registration is not necessary.

The garden is free of charge and open to the public from sunrise to sunset every day of the year.

Donations are accepted to support the Butterfly Garden, Garden Walks and other events and programs sponsored by the Friends of Hagerman NWR.

Join us with membership today to receive the monthly Featherless Flyer newsletter with nature articles, program information, updated events and other important refuge information!

Photo of American Lady Butterfly by Laurie Sheppard

The Little Sit Sunrise Bird Count (August 01, 2026)

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 13:00:00 GMT

The Little Sit Sunrise Bird Count

Meet Jack and the Bird Census Team while learning how to identify the birds of North Texas, and enjoy the beautiful sunrise over Lake Texoma! Modeled after Cornell's national "Big Sit" event, the public is invited to join a group of dedicated birders at sunrise to conduct a bird count as multiple species fly to the water and the surrounding land to feed. Leaders will bring spotting scopes and will provide tips for identification of the many species you will see.

This event begins 30 minutes before sunrise (sunrise is 7:19 AM) and lasts a couple of hours, but all are welcome to come and go as they please. Participants are advised to bring a chair, binoculars and water.

The location of the Little Sit is technically in Sadler, TX, but it is within the boundaries of Hagerman NWR.

Location: H Pad, Sadler, Texas 76264

GPS Coordinates:

33.734961, -96.780582

Refuge Map to H Pad

Directions from the Hagerman Visitor Center:

Take a right (north) out of the Visitor Center parking lot road.
At the bottom of the hill, take a left onto the gravel road (Wildlife Dr).
The road will end at the Big Mineral Day Use Area. Take a right onto Bennett Lane.
You will cross a bridge over Big Mineral Creek, then go over a low water crossing.
There will be several small gravel roads going off to the right.
Stay on Bennett until the road forks, then go right.
When the road forks again, go right.
Take the gravel road to the right marked “H” (you will see oil tanks on the NE corner) and go all the way to the end.

Free and open to the public. Donations are accepted to support this and other events and programs sponsored by the Friends of Hagerman NWR.

Join us with membership today to receive the monthly Featherless Flyer newsletter with nature articles, program information, updated events and other important refuge information.

Birds Are Amazing Flying Dinosaurs with Dr. Thomas Stidham (August 08, 2026)

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Dr. Thomas Stidham will talk about some of the different lines of evidence from anatomy, behavior, and the fossil record that demonstrates that birds are very diverse living dinosaurs.

Note: This is a repeat of the Bird Festival presentation on May 16, 2026.

Dr. Thomas Stidham is an evolutionary biologist and paleontologist who is fascinated by bird biology and evolution from their dinosaurian origins to today. During his career as a professor at Texas A&M University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and now Austin College, he has published scientific research on birds from the Arctic to the Antarctic. In addition to his main work on birds, Tom’s broad natural history perspective also has resulted in research publications on insects, mammals, reptiles, plants, and much more, including the discovery of new species in Texas and elsewhere. As a professor at Austin College, Dr. Stidham engages an active student body in exciting biology courses, mentors students in independent research projects in his lab, and continues his scientific collaborations around the globe.

Registration is not necessary—all are welcome! But if any of these programs spark your curiosity, signing up will get you a friendly reminder three days beforehand. You’ll also receive our once-a-month Featherless Flyer newsletter—no email overload, and it’s easy to unsubscribe anytime.