Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (May 2018)

When Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge was created in the 1930s, the Army Corps of Engineers did not buy the mineral rights. Those rights remained in the hands of private people, so there are quite a few oil pumps there. The pumps aren't exactly eco-friendly; they spew god-knows-what into the surrounding areas. It's a shame, but I guess people probably wouldn't have been as willing to move if they hadn't been able to keep the mineral rights.

Fossil evidence. I guess that's why they're pumping up oil...

Anyway, back to the reasons I like to visit:

Wildflowers

Lots of wildflowers blooming this time of year: coreopsis, spotted beebalm, firewheel, coneflower, and lots of others I don't know the names of…

American White Pelicans

I think there's a squadron of American white pelicans that live in the refuge year-round. It's strange to see them so far from the Gulf coast; I don't think of pelicans as being inland birds.

This group of pelicans was watching me pretty closely as I watched them. They're eerie-looking birds up close.

Red-winged Blackbird

There were a lot of red-winged blackbirds out on my last visit. This one was giving us a full show: displaying his feathers and singing his heart out.

Snowy Egret

Most of the snowy egrets at the refuge are unworried by humans. It's not that they come close up to people, but they're not overly concerned when you get within several feet of them. This one was more concerned with looking for food in the water than concerned about me. I'd never thought much about snowy egrets one way or another, but encountering them at the refuge has given me a serious appreciation for them. They are absolutely beautiful birds.

Canada Geese

I still want to refer to them as "Canadian geese" even though I know that's incorrect. Canada geese get a bad rap for being jerks, but I think that's just because humans don't like animals that they can't tame and that dgaf.

I was unable to get a picture of the gaggle of baby geese, but they were absolutely adorable! There must have been 20 or so babies swimming with their parents (who were keeping the little ones corralled near the reeds).