Birch Compass
January 2026 — Georgia 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
- Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
- Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
- Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
- American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
- Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
In bloom
- Carolina yellow jessamine drapes its first golden trumpets along Coastal Plain fence rows, and red maple buds begin to swell in the swamps.
In the garden
- Cold frames and row covers keep collards and kale growing on the Coastal Plain, while mountain gardeners order short-season seed before favorites sell out.
- Prune dormant apple, peach, and muscadine grapes on mild dry days in the Piedmont before the sap rises and the buds swell.
- In the warm Coastal Plain, plant English peas, onion sets, and Irish potatoes in a sheltered bed on a mild late-January day.
Night sky
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks in a short, sharp burst around January 3 — best after midnight from a dark north Georgia mountain ridge or the unlit Okefenokee.
- Orion strides up the southern sky, his belt pointing down to brilliant Sirius — the cold, dry air gives the clearest viewing of the year.
- The Winter Hexagon and the Pleiades cluster blaze through the long nights, with the Orion Nebula a misty glow in binoculars from a dark site.
My field notes