DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — Tornadoes, rain, hail, and winds wreaked havoc across the Metroplex this evening, but but we didn’t get any really severe weather down south of Dallas where I live. Before the storms struck, I spent a few hours birding the northeastern corner of Joe Pool Lake.

I was hoping the unsettled weather would deliver some warblers, but I was disappointed. I’m beginning to wonder whether Dallas ever gets any warblers, but I suppose I’m just being impatient. Only in the last few days have the birds begun showing up along the Gulf Coast.

But warblers, of course, aren’t the only migrants out there. I surprised a Little Blue Heron in a creek, and I saw it briefly in the snag where it landed. There are still coots on the lake, and I saw a female Ruddy Duck, a handful of Blue-winged Teal, a pair of shovelers, a wigeon, and a Gadwall. All the ducks, of course, are gorgeous in their brilliant breeding colors.

Flecks of white over the water caught my attention. I saw the Franklin’s Gulls first, their underparts almost glowing with a rich, earthy pink. There were Bonaparte’s Gulls too, and their icy white tones contrasted sharply with their cousins’ warm colors.

Forster’s Terns were there too, the fastest and most agile members of the party. Good job, that, because the Franklin’s Gulls swooped after them, trying to snatch their prey. A few mottled Ring-bills joined the fray. Most of the adult birds were in full breeding plumage. The bonies had got their hoods, and all but one or two of the terns had got their caps back.

Sometimes I watched closely, trying to see details. Sometimes I just watched the birds swooping, gliding, diving.

Back on land, a Harris’s Sparrow foraged underneath a picnic table. The bird’s sharp, vivid markings almost took my breath — gone were winter’s obfuscations. Six Scissor-tailed Flycatchers fluttered against the breeze. A Vesper Sparrow fled when I walked by.

Barn Swallows, Purple Martins, Cliff Swallows, and Chimney Swifts rode the winds at extraordinary speeds. Then, I saw a single Broad-winged Hawk coming over, just low enough to show me its banded tail, finely patterned breast, and neatly framed underwings.

Then I saw a few more broad-wings in the distance, and I settled on my trunk to see what else would pass. A lone Osprey drifted over, and I saw a couple of accipiters. Broad-wings straggled past in ones and twos, usually low, and struggling in the wind. There were Turkey Vultures too, but there are always Turkey Vultures.

The sun faded. Dark clouds rushed across the sky.

DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — Today. It. Snowed. This is Texas. This is April. But today, the temperature is 30 degrees below normal, and frozen precipitation fell intermittently for several hours while I was birding.

“Snow” may be a generous term for what was happening. The frozen bits seemed to be tiny balls of ice all stuck together, rather than properly formed snowflakes, which require much colder temperatures. But forget the technicalities — it snowed!

At Cedar Ridge Preserve, I picked up common residents like cardinals and Carolina Wrens, and I encountered some mixed flocks that included Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Carolina Chickadees, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. The Ruby-crowned Kinglets were singing their long, jittery songs, but I did not hear or see even one Golden-crowned Kinglet. Perhaps they have moved out?

I came across one flock that included dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Most were in their brilliant summer colors: yellow, blue, black, and white. Some were singing. I could not find a single other warbler species in that swarm — but it was snowing, after all.

Snow or no snow, many gorgeous wildflowers are blooming now. This is some sort of spiderwort (Tradescantia sp.).

And this is a large-flowered, very showy Penstemon or beardtongue. Brian, my botanist buddy, left yesterday for Papua New Guinea. Now I don’t have anyone to help me with plants.

Some mammalian predator (I’m guessing a coyote) had feasted heavily on brightly colored Calosoma beetles, which have been running around the woods of late. All the hard, shiny parts passed right through unscathed.

This beauty is Mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa), which approaches the eastern edge of its range here. I’ve put more photos of wildflowers, etc. in this week’s photo gallery.

DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — The latest edition if I and the Bird is hosted by a saucy chickadee.

DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — Headed south on I-45 this morning, I noticed flooded, muddy fields near the town of Wilmer. My shorebird radar kicked into gear (ah, mixed metaphors), and when I saw a couple of white birds in the air, I swerved off at the exit, which was very nicely placed I must say.

Dozens of Franklin’s Gulls (Larus pipixcan) — dressed in their breeding finery — were resting in the fields. Occasionally, I heard their laughing calls, and I could see a faint pink tinge on the underparts of some birds. These gulls are en route from their wintering grounds in South America to their breeding grounds on the northern prairies.

This is a poor-quality detail of a much larger photograph, but it does illustrate the unique white-black-white wingtip pattern of the Franklin’s Gull.

The gulls were not the only birds taking advantage of all that mud and water. Besides hundreds of Brewer’s Blackbirds and cowbirds, I also found American Golden-Plovers (who, unlike the gulls, showed barely even a hint of their breeding colors), a single distant bird that I took to be an Upland Sandpiper, Killdeer, and peeps.

As I looked at them, I felt fairly confident calling the smaller sandpipers Baird’s, but when I got home and checked the books, I lost most of my confidence, wondering whether they might have been Semipalmated Sandpipers instead. I was looking at the dark-centered feathers on the birds’ backs, but apparently Semipalmateds also show that feature in breeding plumage. Baird’s, of course are noticeably larger than semis — but only with a size reference, which I didn’t have. I did try to observe the birds’ wingtip projection, but they were a little too distant to be certain of a feature like that. Ah well, just when I was feeling better about my sandpiper skills….

My next stop was Kachina Prairie in Ennis. It is one of the few patches of Blackland Prairie remaining in the world. A few early wildflowers, like these gorgeous, sweet-scented bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) were blooming. The bluebonnets weren’t as common in the prairie remnant as I’d expected. Perhaps because they are annuals, they thrive only in disturbed areas and are unable to compete with dense, established perennial cover.

They may be scarce on Kachina Prairie, but bluebonnets put on a spectacular show along the highways and country roads, carpeting huge swaths on the medians and right of ways. It’s little wonder that these plants are Texas’ state flower. Here, a few paintbrushes (Castilleja sp.) mingle with the bluebonnets, but all is not as cheerful as it seems. Paintbrushes are hemiparasites (i.e., partial parasites) and may well be taking advantage of these bluebonnets.

Look who I found crossing the road! It’s a common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina.

I know I shouldn’t anthropomorphize, but those eyes seem the very definition of baleful.

And check out that tail!

Shouldn’t these woods be teeming with warblers of every color and description? Hmm, not yet. But, I was very happy to hear two Northern Parulas (and see one) and a Yellow-throated Warbler (which I did not get to see). I also had four Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, including one male who hung around on a fence just above a drift of bluebonnets — magnificent!