Birch Compass
January 2026 — Washington 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
- Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus
- Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
- Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis
In bloom
- The catkins of red alder and hazelnut lengthen along the lowland creeks, and the earliest hellebores and winter heath open in sheltered gardens.
- Native Indian plum (osoberry) begins to leaf out along westside woodland edges — the surest first herald of the Northwest spring.
In the garden
- In the mild Puget lowland, keep harvesting overwintered kale, leeks, and parsnips between rains, and prune dormant apples and roses on a dry day.
- Bare-root fruit trees, blueberries, and roses arrive at westside nurseries — a prime planting window in the maritime climate.
Night sky
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks in a brief, sharp burst around January 3 — watch the dark northeast after midnight from the dry country east of the Cascades.
- Orion rides high in the south, his belt pointing to brilliant Sirius, all framed by the great Winter Hexagon on a clear cold night.
- Goldendale Observatory above the Columbia Gorge offers the state's darkest skies; the Pleiades and Orion Nebula reward binoculars on a crisp eastern night.
My field notes