Fifth trip to Texas. This was the “Cold Coast,” when temperatures dropped into the upper teens and the power went out across Texas. The weather brought most of the state to its knees for two weeks. During this frigid spell, biologist Dave Brandt and I were the only ones out in the field at the refuge.

I witnessed some whoopers switch to a nearly all-fish diet; cold-shocked fish—big ones—were suddenly easy to catch because they didn’t move much. I photographed Husker Red (White-Red-White) catching a prized speckled trout and a hardy mullet, then eating them like a heron would.

Whoopers and some other wildlife seemed to fare fine in the cold. Other species struggled, especially small birds like warblers and hummingbirds, which were just returning from their wintering grounds in the tropics.

I was camping when locals Janet and Bob Cunningham kindly gave me a place to stay at their home in Rockport. They had a gas stove and were used to dealing with power outages during hurricanes. They also filled their bathtubs with water before the pipes froze and used plenty of candles, too.