Today we had a clear schedule other than a short trip to the post office. After stopping in the nearby tiny burg of Sadler for postal purposes, we jumped on the back roads and headed toward Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge about 20 miles away. We had no idea what was there since we have never been in this part of the world before.
We suspected we were approaching the Refuge when the paving changed from crummy asphalt to dirt and gravel. Fortunately, some government employee has properly graded the gravel roads and washboard sections and potholes are rare. It is fortunate the roads are well-tended because the scenery is spectacular and paying attention to the road surface is difficult.
We spotted many aquatic birds like ducks, geese and coots. We observed turtles lurking in the ponds. We spotted a new species for us – a greater yellowlegs which is a wading bird who gave us an impressive demonstration of “Beat it! Go away!” while posturing from a roadside puddle. There are many wading birds here. We spotted a bunch of great blue herons and white egrets.
Eagle-eyed Peggy directed me to a pull-out where she suspected bird activity and we found a very miserable-looking group of black vultures and one blue heron watching a bald eagle dining on something they could not have.The eagle was a monster, dwarfing the usually largest vultures and forcing them to wait while she dined and made periodic trips to the nearby water to drink.
Hagerman NWR is a great place to spend the day and I wouldn’t mind going back in the early morning during the feeding frenzy. We found our way back home without having to get on any roads with lines down the center but no sooner got close to the Barbarian Invader when Peggy suggested we continue on into nearby Oklahoma so we did. Not surprisingly, the other side of the Red River looks pretty similar to the Texas side but we will go there tomorrow to make sure.
The sunsets are terrific here.
There are some shots we took along the way you can see if you click here