SPRING’S first fingers are creeping out of the fridge door in between cold snaps according to nature watchers contributing to the Woodland Trust’s Nature’s Calendar seasonal survey for 2009.

Despite an apparent return to the winters of old with deep frosts over New Year and into January, frogspawn, birds building nests, butterflies, hazel flowers, celandines and snowdrops have all been spotted so far this year.

A seven spot ladybird has been sighted in Northern Ireland, lesser celandines in Cardiff, rooks building nests in Oxfordshire, song thrush singing in Berkshire, with a peacock butterfly seen in Lichfield and newts spotted in Somerset.

Shaun Nixon, manager for the Nature’s Calendar survey, said: “The timing of natural events is one of the most responsive aspects of the natural world to warming, so it is an important indicator of change.”

“Even in a year like this, with an apparent return to the winters of old, things seem be happening and we have already had confirmation of frogspawn seen as early as December.”

There are fundamental concerns thrown up by spring’s gradual advance, according to the Trust. Species fooled by warmer weather into activity, blossoming or breeding, are very vulnerable and can get caught out by the sort of freeze not uncommon in February.

Food chains could also come under pressure and even break down, says the Trust.

If some species adapt and change their habits, do the species they prey on do the same, or the species that prey on them? If birds nest and hatch their chicks earlier, is their normal food stock going to be available to them? As the season progresses we’ll see a clearer picture of what is happening this season.

Certainly nature seems to be seizing her chances in between cold spells

Shaun Nixon - Woodland Trust

“Certainly nature seems to be seizing her chances in between cold spells,” said Shaun. “Frogs are spawning, stopping for the cold periods and then others are spawning. The problem with that is that we may find frozen frogspawn. As frogs will only breed once a year, it’s critical for the species if their spawn does not survive.”

“Nature’s Calendar’s success is due to thousands of recorders across the UK simply recording what they see. The information is fed into our database to establish credible patterns, helping scientists judge the impact of what appear to be changing seasons.”

Continued success of the project relies on the Trust recruiting more and more nature recorders. People can sign up and find information on becoming a nature recorder www.naturescalendar.org.uk.