After the very slim pickings of fall, January’s bounty is welcome indeed. This January’s tally of 16 isn’t great — anything less than 20 is nothing to brag about — but it sure beats last January’s 13.

The unexpectedly early birds are Colorado, Arizona, and Iowa, #8, #9, and #16, respectively. Last year they were #24, #31, and #37. A couple of days ago I was standing in line at the Vineyard Haven post office, which has a floor-to-ceiling window with parked cars on the other side. The non-Massachusetts plate was blue like Connecticut’s, but after staring at it an extra second I realized the blue was too light. So I stepped to one side so I could read the name: IOWA!

Iowa didn’t show up till August last year. I’m also sure I’ve seen at least two different Arizonas. No idea what that means.

Maine was the last of the New England states to appear. That was true last year too.

In order of sighting: Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Virginia, California, Colorado, Arizona, New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island, Ohio, Florida, Maine, and Iowa.

For the record, the haul for January 2016: Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, New Hampshire, California, Rhode Island, Vermont, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, and Maine.

Pretty similar, eh? Tennessee was the outlier last year. Texas will almost surely be along soon, and (I’m predicting but not betting) Pennsylvania, Oregon, and North Carolina.