Birch Compass
January 2026 — Washington, D.C. 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
- Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
- Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
- Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
- Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
In bloom
- Witch hazel uncurls its spidery yellow ribbons on warm afternoons in the sheltered beds of the National Arboretum and Dumbarton Oaks.
- The first snowdrops push through the leaf litter in protected Arboretum and Georgetown beds, the earliest sign of the turning year.
In the garden
- A planning week at the kitchen table — order seeds and sketch next year's beds, but cold frames in the warm city core still hold cuttable spinach and mâche.
- Prune dormant apples, pears, and grapes now before the sap rises, and water newly planted trees during any frost-free spell.
- Start onion, leek, and the first slow cool-season seeds indoors under lights for spring transplanting.
Night sky
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks in a short, sharp burst around January 3; watch the northeast after midnight from an open spot like Hains Point.
- Brilliant Orion rides high in the south by mid-evening, with Sirius the Dog Star blazing below the hunter's belt.
My field notes