Birch Compass
January 2026 — West Virginia Nature Journal
What to look for this month near you, with room to record what you find.
This month in nature
Birds to watch
- American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
- European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
- Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
- Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
- American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
- Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
In bloom
- Skunk cabbage begins pushing its mottled hoods through frozen mud in wet woods and seeps of the lower valleys, generating its own heat — the first stirring of spring.
In the garden
- A planning week — review last season and order seeds early, before the short-season varieties the Allegheny high country depends on sell out.
- Brush heavy, wet snow off arborvitae, hemlocks, and rhododendrons to prevent breakage, and start onions and leeks indoors under lights toward week's end.
- Maple-syrup season begins in the Allegheny Highlands as warm days and freezing nights start the sap running in the sugar maples.
Night sky
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks in a short, sharp burst around January 3 — watch after midnight from a dark mountain site like Spruce Knob or Dolly Sods.
- Orion dominates the southern sky, his belt pointing down to brilliant Sirius low in the southeast — the cold, dry mountain air gives crystal-clear viewing.
- The Winter Hexagon and the Pleiades cluster blaze through the long, frigid nights, with the Orion Nebula a misty glow in binoculars.
My field notes