Birch Compass
January 2026 — Texas 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
- Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
- Sandhill Crane Antigone canadensis
- Whooping Crane Grus americana
- Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum
- Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
In bloom
- Texas Ruby Red grapefruit from the Rio Grande Valley is at peak; the trees hold ripe fruit and a few late white blossoms.
- Little blooms in deep winter; watch instead for the bright red berry crop on yaupon and American beautyberry remnants feeding birds.
- Grapefruit and oranges still hang heavy in the Valley; northern Texas gardens show only the seed heads of last summer's natives.
In the garden
- Bare-root fruit trees and dormant native trees go in the ground now while everything is leafless and roots can settle before spring.
- Sow cool-season greens like spinach, kale, and lettuce under cover in central and south Texas where frosts are light.
- Prune dormant roses, fruit trees, and summer-flowering shrubs while sap is down; clean and sharpen tools before spring arrives.
- Plant onion transplants, including Texas 1015 sweet onions, now for an early-summer harvest across most of the state.
Night sky
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks around January 3 in a short, sharp burst; look northeast after midnight away from city lights.
- Orion stands high in the south after dark; trace down from his belt to brilliant Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.
- The Pleiades star cluster rides high overhead in early evening, a tiny dipper-shaped knot of stars in Taurus.
My field notes