Spring has arrived – and much earlier than last year, according to sightings of nature recorded by the public.
The Woodland Trust, which runs the Nature's Calendar project that allows the public to report signs of the seasons across the country, said this year was following the recent trend for early springs.
Hawthorns are leafing, blackthorns flowering and there have been hundreds of sightings of frogspawn, according to the calendar that helps experts gain an accurate picture of how temperature changes are affecting nature.
The Woodland Trust said that by this time last year 71 records of hawthorns leafing had been received, but online records so far this year have already exceeded 180.
There have been 92 recordings of blackthorn online so far by members of the public, compared with 52 flowering at this time last year.
And in a definitive sign that spring has arrived, there have been 564 sightings of frogspawn.
The harsh weather suffered by the UK in December meant the early signs of spring, such as snowdrops, lesser celandine and hazel flowers, were delayed.
But last month, Tim Sparks, of the University of Cambridge and founder of Nature's Calendar, predicted that temperatures in January meant it was unlikely the rest of spring would be late - and because the season had been held up, events could unfold rapidly.
Today he said the latest evidence from public sightings showed spring was "rapidly underway".
"It's rushing forward now, everything is desperate to become active, plants, birds and insects are all making rapid progress."
He said the spring was much earlier than last year because the last few months have not been cold, whereas in 2010, January and February were cold.
"It won't be a record breaker but will be another of the recent early springs," he said.
"There's been an overall trend, particularly in the last 25 years, of early springs. It's warmer and earlier than the springs of my childhood."
Forthcoming signs of spring include red-tailed bumblebees, tortoiseshell butterflies and tadpoles, which all appear in early April on average, bluebells which appear around mid-April and the bud burst of oak and ash trees which happens on average in mid to late April.
Comments
22 March 2011 3:42PM
about time ffs
22 March 2011 4:13PM
"It's warmer and earlier than the springs of my childhood"
Highly scientific, that!
The fields were probably greener, skies bluer and sunsets prettier too!
22 March 2011 4:13PM
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22 March 2011 4:33PM
Just a small point....
Whilst it's pretty obvious that climate change is occurring and seasons are changing, there is no thought given (in this article at least) to the fact that maybe it's just that more people noted the spring events on that particular website this year compared to last year?
22 March 2011 4:45PM
Blue Tits are taking an interest in a bird box in my garden.
22 March 2011 5:35PM
Hive got a feeling those bees are off to their pollen station... they seem pretty buzzed!
22 March 2011 5:49PM
Bah, humbug.
We've had over a metre of snow here over the past four days, and are warned to expect another metre over the next three days.
Spring, my ass.
22 March 2011 6:04PM
I was thrilled yesterday to see I have frog spawn in my pond which has been in the garden for over two years and nothing's been near it apart from local cats and a fox.
This morning i noticed a female blackbird picking up little bits of twig so she must be building a nest somewhere.
Yes, the sun's shining and it really does look like Spring is on the way.
Yippeeee!!!!
22 March 2011 7:10PM
A curious thing I've noticed about frog spawn. I had the first in my pond Feb 20th and today, a month later, some more was left. That's the first time in seven years that the time gap has been so long.
22 March 2011 7:11PM
If it makes you feel better, the first swallows arrived here in Sicily this week.
22 March 2011 7:36PM
In my opinion, all the seasons are actually about a month ahead of their official dates. Spring gets going end of Feb. it's been slow this year because it's been cold but the first signs were definitely there in Feb. Summer starts end of May, Autumn end of August and Winter end of November. The official dates are just plain wrong!
22 March 2011 9:20PM
Oh no! . . . .It's Semi-Global Warming.
22 March 2011 9:44PM
Pagan tradition has it that spring starts around 1 February, with the equinox marking 'high' spring and 1 May marking the start of summer. As spring is a season that straddles extremes, that makes sense to me - the beginning still feels wintery and the end (hopefully!) will feel quite summery.
In between is when the magic happens.
22 March 2011 10:25PM
No doubt due to the fact that this story and the Woodland Trust's Calendar has been plugged repeatedly in the press for the last 2 months! If you want an excuse to show some pretty pictures find a new one please. This is non-news.
22 March 2011 10:32PM
Where I live in Mid Wales, a good measure is when the daffodils come out; in a good year, they're flowering on St David's Day (1st March); this year they were nearly 2 weeks after that.
22 March 2011 10:59PM
So much colors around ! Spring is great !
22 March 2011 11:46PM
the article states
The Woodland Trust said that by this time last year 71 records of hawthorns leafing had been received, but online records so far this year have already exceeded 180.
but then goes on to say
He said the spring was much earlier than last year because the last few months have not been cold, whereas in 2010, January and February were cold.
yawn
itsnt it amazing that each year there are some variations? i bet it will rain during wimbledon this year (because last year it didnt really...)
23 March 2011 12:50AM
Colours man. Colours.
Co-laws ?!?
Culors if you're gonna spell it right deliberately. Of which there are MANY !!!
..
sorry dude, sap rising an' all that, I'm glad you're enjoying it.
23 March 2011 2:46AM
These with a barometer in their house will be able to see the reason for this nice weather we are having.
A area of high pressure has moved up from the SW "bringing some mild air with it and is now sitting right over the UK.
Which is keeping these Atlantic lows at bay and is weaking the weather fronts that come with them.
23 March 2011 8:05AM
exactly what is the point of comparing this year with last? Lat year due to prolonged cold weather in January and february spring was definitely a bit late.. but it matches well with 2009. It wasn't so long ago that everyone was saying spring was late this year - it caught up though.
the underlying trend of spring definitely starts in the begining of february - pagans and the chines (their spring day 5th february) would agee on this. And the birds certainly start preparing. the sap starts rising in the trees even in really cold places like quebec. it certaonly becomes more visible by mid march.
blackthorn out in odd places where I am and cherry plim out (wasn't out til first week in april last year, matches 2009 this year)
Frogspawn has been a feature that has been noted earlier and earlier.
but this report is more about the information coming in to one website - a project that s probably growing in popularity. despite my recordings of spring I haven't actually joined up...
23 March 2011 8:46AM
That's very stupid. Sorry, but it really is: It states there are more reports of various spring events, on a website which takes arbitrary submissions from the public. Has it occurred to The Woodland Trust that maybe more people have used the website? To call that bad statistical analysis would be an affront to bad statisticians.
And "not like the springs of my childhood"?! Come on! Get a grip! He spent his childhood in Inverness. Probably.
23 March 2011 8:57AM
Was 15 degrees in sunny Co. Down yesterday and saw my first butterfly (tortoiseshell). Plenty of big bumblebees bumbling about too.
Another beautiful day today. Wish i was off work!!!
23 March 2011 9:14AM
Spring is such a hemisphere thing, and large overrated. It is 33 degrees in Singapore, and the concrete is blooming!
23 March 2011 10:47AM
Since this is a highly subjective article I will add my two penneth of folk wisdom. Since childhood, I have alwayd viewed St David's day on March 1st as a fair indicator of early spring having sprung - we had to wear a leek or a daffodil. Sometimes the daffodils had opened by Dydd Gwyl Dewi sometimes not. This year the leek was the only available locally grown option though there were plenty of foreign daffs. The forest of trees in which I live are budding in late March but do not have any leaves as yet ( some years they would have been seen by now). Like most things this is all down to variability, there is no "normal" as such and the delicious perambulations of the Azores high have fooled many a bumble bee.
23 March 2011 5:20PM
I saw my first bumblebee of the year yesterday, spring has most definitely sprung in Limerick!
23 March 2011 5:29PM
taxedtothelimit.
Aren't these Biscay bubbles few and far between though. Much of our weather recently has been dictated by the eastern continental system, winter and summer probably pushed over by the smogs over India and China.
Personally I like it. It makes me realise I could leave the coast and move inland.
The thing about measuring spring
is that you need a stout piece of string
when it wafts it is windy
when it's watery it's wet.
23 March 2011 5:41PM
Lots of tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies in my back garden this weekend, so they're clearly not a "forthcoming" sign of spring...