Birds
In the depth of winter, as you walk through quiet woods, you may come across a lone thrush standing at attention, its delicately speckled throat exposed. The Hermit Thrush is a gifted songster, but its voice is mostly muted here; it saves its ethereal song for spring, when it returns to its breeding grounds in Canada and the western United States. As Hermit Thrushes leave the Piedmont, Wood Thrushes—with rufous wings and boldly spotted breasts—arrive later in spring to mesmerize North Carolinians with their haunting calls.
In January, many people feel the winter birding doldrums. Yet winter can be a wonderful time to watch birds from the comfort of home. Many species visit well-stocked feeders, including Carolina Wrens, Brown-headed Nuthatches, White-breasted Nuthatches, Carolina Chickadees, Northern Cardinals, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, and finches. Woodpeckers often join the action as well, especially Downy Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers.
Winter is also a great season to look for abandoned bird nests. Take photos and notes for identification, but leave nests in place—birds may reuse nests or recycle nest materials in the next breeding season. Raptors often repair and reuse old nests, while many passerines (songbirds) build new nests each year.
This time of year, you may also notice backyard birds primping and preening. Preening is a daily ritual that keeps feathers in working order in two main ways. First, birds realign the fine parallel branches of feathers (barbs), which are held together by microscopic hooks. Second, they spread oil—usually collected from a gland near the base of the tail—across their feathers. Preen oil was once thought to waterproof feathers, but many biologists now view it primarily as a feather conditioner and/or a chemical defense against fungi and parasites. Either way, daily feather care is essential for bird health, reproductive success, and survival.
Butterflies
A few butterflies manage to sneak out in January—especially sulphurs and whites (family Pieridae)—but sightings are rare.
Reptiles and amphibians
On warm, wet January days, you may hear chorus frogs and spring peepers. Southeastern Chorus Frogs sound like someone dragging their thumb over the teeth of a plastic comb, while Spring Peepers charm with their clear “peeping” calls.
Toward the end of the month, Spotted Salamanders may appear at breeding ponds on warm, rainy nights—often when there’s plenty of moonlight. Spotted Salamanders live in Piedmont deciduous and mixed forests but spend most of summer and winter below ground. In late January and early February, they emerge to begin their remarkable courtship in ponds and slow-moving streams.
In bloom this month
The bright red berries of native hollies (North Carolina is home to at least ten species) still cling to frosted branches in January. Two you may notice are possumhaw (Ilex decidua) and American holly (Ilex opaca). These brilliant fruits—technically drupes—feed a wide range of wildlife, including red foxes, gray squirrels, white-tailed deer, raccoons, Eastern Box Turtles, and many birds such as Wild Turkeys, Mourning Doves, Cedar Waxwings, American Goldfinches, and Northern Cardinals. While wildlife devours them, holly berries can make humans quite sick.
You may also see the remnants of sweetgum’s spiny, ball-like fruits hanging on lower branches. Each “ball” is actually a cluster of many beaked capsules, and each capsule contains two tiny black seeds.
In bloom (in some years)
Round-lobed hepatica – Anemone americana
Bluets – Houstonia sp.
In fruit
Beautyberry – Callicarpa americana
Sugarberry – Celtis laevigata
Hearts-a-bustin’ – Euonymus americanus
American holly – Ilex opaca
Historical anecdote: White fringetree (Old Man’s Beard) — Chionanthus virginicus
Donald Culross Peattie (1948) described the fringetree as “a raving beauty” in mid-spring, when it is loaded with airy, ethereal flowers and a faint sweet fragrance. In autumn, he noted, its leaves turn a clear, bright yellow.
References
Harrison H. 1975. Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Birds’ Nests. New York (NY): Houghton Mifflin Company.
Daniels JC. 2003. Butterflies of the Carolinas. Cambridge (MN): Adventure Publications, Inc.
Cook D. 2001. The Piedmont Almanac. Chapel Hill (NC): Mystic Crow Publishing.
Peattie DC. 1948. A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America. Boston (MA): Houghton Mifflin Company.
Sense of Place 