Birch Compass
January 2026 — Wisconsin 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
- Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
- Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
- American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
- Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus
- Northern House Wren Troglodytes aedon
In bloom
- The red stems of red-osier dogwood and the persistent berries of winterberry holly are the brightest color in the frozen marsh edges.
In the garden
- A planning week — order seeds early, especially the short-season varieties northern Wisconsin gardens depend on, before they sell out.
- Now is the safest window to prune oaks, while they're dormant and the oak-wilt beetles are inactive; prune apples on a mild day.
- Set up the grow-light shelf and start the slowest seeds — onions, leeks, and celery — for transplants you'll set out in late May.
Night sky
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks in a short, sharp burst around January 3; watch the northeast after midnight from a dark site away from city lights.
- Orion dominates the southern sky, his belt pointing down to brilliant Sirius low in the southeast — the cold, dry air makes for crystal-clear viewing.
- The Winter Hexagon of bright stars — Sirius, Procyon, Pollux, Capella, Aldebaran, and Rigel — sprawls across the long, dark January sky.
My field notes