Birch Compass
January 2026 — Connecticut Nature Journal
What to look for this month near you, with room to record what you find.
This month in nature
Birds to watch
- Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
- Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
- Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
- American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
- Northern House Wren Troglodytes aedon
- Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
In bloom
- Bright red-osier dogwood stems and scarlet winterberry holly hold the only color in the frozen swamps and wet ditches.
In the garden
- A planning week — order seeds early before popular varieties sell out, and check stored dahlia tubers and tender bulbs for rot.
- Leave snow banked over perennial beds as insulation, and gently knock heavy wet snow off arborvitae and evergreen branches to prevent breakage.
- Set up the grow-light shelf and start the slowest seeds — onions, leeks, and celery — for transplants you'll set out in May.
Night sky
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks in a short, sharp burst around January 3; watch the northeast after midnight from a dark hilltop away from coastal light.
- Orion dominates the southern sky, his belt pointing down to brilliant Sirius — the cold, dry winter air makes for crystal-clear viewing.
- The Winter Hexagon of bright stars — Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, Capella, Aldebaran, and Rigel — sprawls across the long, dark January sky.
My field notes