Birch Compass
January 2026 — Arkansas 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
- American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
- Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
- Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
- Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
In bloom
- Native witch-hazel may open its thin yellow petal-ribbons in sheltered Ozark hollows on a mild day, the lone winter bloomer.
In the garden
- A planning and pruning month statewide; order seeds early and prune dormant fruit trees and muscadines on mild days.
- Start onion and leek seeds indoors under lights now, the slowest transplants to get a head start on the Arkansas spring.
- In the mild south, set out hardy cabbage and collard transplants under cover and plant onion sets late in the month.
- Finish dormant pruning of fruit trees and grapes before the buds swell, and plant bare-root trees and roses.
Night sky
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks around January 3 in a short, sharp burst; look toward the northeast after midnight from a dark Ozark sky.
- Orion stands high in the south after dark; trace down his belt to brilliant Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.
- The Pleiades cluster and the V-shaped Hyades of Taurus ride high overhead in the early evening.
My field notes