Birch Compass
January 2026 — Idaho Nature Journal
What to look for this month near you, with room to record what you find.
This month in nature
Birds to watch
- Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
- European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
- Common Raven Corvus corax
- Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
- Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
- Black-billed Magpie Pica hudsonia
In bloom
A quiet month here — watch and note what you find.
In the garden
- In the warm Treasure Valley, dig the last mulched carrots and leeks on a thaw and finish dormant pruning of apples once the cold eases.
- Order short-season potato, sweet corn, and onion seed now before the popular Idaho varieties sell out for the brief growing season ahead.
- Start onions and leeks under lights late this month to give Idaho's famous sweet and storage onions their needed head start.
Night sky
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks in a brief, sharp burst around January 3 — watch the dark northeast after midnight from the Snake River Plain or the Sawtooth valleys.
- Orion rides high in the south, his belt aiming at brilliant Sirius, all framed by the Winter Hexagon over the cold, clear central-Idaho dark skies.
- Inversion fog often grips the Snake River Plain, but a clear cold night over the Sawtooths reveals a brilliant, transparent winter sky.
My field notes