Birch Compass
January 2026 — Oregon Nature Journal
What to look for this month near you, with room to record what you find.
This month in nature
Birds to watch
- European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
- Common Raven Corvus corax
- (Red-shafted Flicker) Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus cafer
- Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
- Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
- Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
In bloom
- Indian plum (osoberry) buds swell in the valley woods, the earliest native shrub to stir toward the Pacific Northwest spring.
- Indian plum opens its first drooping white flowers along valley streams — the classic first sign of spring in western Oregon.
In the garden
- In the mild Willamette Valley, prune dormant apples and pears and plant bare-root fruit on a dry window between the rains.
- Sow fava beans and overwintering peas in a break in the rain, and harvest the standing kale, leeks, and parsnips from the valley beds.
- Start tomatoes, peppers, and onions indoors under lights for the long season; finish dormant pruning before bud swell.
Night sky
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks in a short sharp burst around January 3; watch the northeast after midnight from a dark site like the Oregon Outback near Lakeview.
- Orion dominates the southern sky, his belt pointing down to brilliant Sirius and up to the Pleiades — the cold, dry eastern air gives crystal-clear views.
My field notes