Winter 2025-26
By: John W. Garbutt- Class of 2019
As meteorological winter began, North Texas was awaiting a 3rd front of arctic air. Though it was only the beginning of December everyone was dressed as if they lived in Chicago. The first couple weeks of winter began as one of the coldest in recent years. For some reason the sky reminded me of the Simon and Garfunkel song, A Hazy Shade of Winter.
As December progressed, autumn finally showed. Bald Cypresses were a mix of green giving way to burnt orange. Oaks showed spotted with orange amongst the green leaves as the trees belatedly entered the final stage of their annual cycle. Crepe Myrtle leaves provided a menagerie of reds and oranges.
The cottonwoods were golden, pears were orange and plum, and the sycamore provided a rustic finality as one season ceded to another. A neighborhood Post Oak looked fiery red in the morning and evening golden hour light. Then after nightfall there were walks to enjoy Christmas lights.
The first day of astronomical winter was one with autumn’s beauty at her peak as Jess and I celebrated our Christmas on a spring like morning. Christmas Day was the second warmest on record. The latter half of the month had “record high” or “near record high” mentioned too much. At the end of my street, a lone American Sweetgum’s chlorophyll reduction moved slower than the other trees. Defying the seasons and the calendar; the yellow and orange leaves gave way slowly to red then brown, as a few with color crossed into 2026, before silently coming to rest on the ground below.
By early January, winter was now trending toward the second warmest on record. Later in the month, the weather dramatically shifted and prompted me to begin the first draft of this article. As I sat down, I recorded that it felt like 9 degrees as a winter mix fell in the chilled air. Four days later as it began to thaw, a Great Blue Heron and coyote took advantage as they could now access the water in the creek near my home.
February felt like April as spring was up front and center. Where had winter gone? Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, and Mallards all showed courtship behavior. Eastern Phoebes sang accompanied by the first Cricket Frog chorus of the year. The bees swarmed over the early blooming Elbow Bush. On the 22nd, I saw the Eastern Redbuds in bloom and my first spring migrant birds with Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Redstem Stork’s-bill was starting to show around work. Various butterflies fluttered about. Dark-eyed Juncos and Ruby-crowned Kinglets had begun to sing in anticipation of their northward trip to their breeding grounds.
February ended as the second warmest in DFW history. Overall, it was the fifth warmest meteorological winter. It is forecasted that entering the week of the spring equinox, winter like temperatures will return ever briefly for a day. Despite the huge disappointment in this winter’s temperatures, these were some of my favorite things from the winter of 2025-2026.
12/13/25- Goldenrod with the autumnal backdrop. It was difficult to select one foliage photo to accompany the article, but I really enjoy the goldenrod out of season as much as in season. – Frisco, TX.
1/1/26- Belted Kingfisher on the hunt and looking into the new year. Our New Year’s walk. – Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, Sherman, TX.
1/12/26- For a birder, one of the things that says winter, is a wintering sparrow in the tall grasses like this Song Sparrow. – McKinney, TX.
1/25/26- Survival. This Field Sparrow foraged by running its beak from the base to the tip of the strands of grass to grab seeds. It did so within 3-6 feet from me as I laid on the icy ground with it for fifteen minutes as the sun set behind the gray cloak of winter. If not for the desperate times in the weather, the bird would flown before I saw it- Frisco, TX
1/26/26- A winter’s sunrise. – Frisco, TX.
2/1/26- We have grown close to the Red-shouldered Hawk pair over the past year. We eagerly await the nesting period. – McKinney, TX.
2/9/26- Hooded Mergansers. It was difficult to choose a photo as I have taken many over three sessions with them. – McKinney, TX.
2/16/26- Female Belted Kingfisher. She is difficult to observe, much less photograph. This is a tight 16:9 crop, shot on 1.6x crop sensor mode instead of my normal full-framed as I wanted “more reach” on my 500mm lens. On this day, I was able to get low and near during golden hour and aligned with the sun directly behind. – McKinney, TX.
2/23/26- The male Cooper’s Hawk after bringing his mate a meal. It is a part of their courtship ritual. – Frisco, TX.
2/26/26- The female Cooper’s Hawk of the pair. She will soon be incubating 2-6 eggs in her clutch. I believe that this will be her first year. Her eyes have not quite reached their mature red color, and she still shows a lot of immature plumage. – Frisco, TX.