It's Spring Or Is It?

Astronomical Spring arrived on March 20 at 02:37 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. It is the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth. 

Here is the other spring which is of more importance to growers.

 

Phenological Spring

Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles including  the date of emergence of leaves and flowers, the first flight of butterflies, the first appearance of migratory birds, the date of leaf colouring and fall in deciduous trees, the dates of egg-laying of birds and amphibia. Because many such phenomena are very sensitive to small variations in climate, especially to temperature, phenological records can be useful in the study of climate change and global warming. 

Climate change is causing spring to arrive earlier in some areas and later in others, posing a challenge for plants and animals . An early thaw can throw off the rhythms of nature, causing flowers to blossom before bees arrive to pollinate them, or spurring birds to head north before the ice has melted at their destination.

Keeping data is critically important. Do you remember the Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden? She only kept her observations for one year in 1906/7 but they became a fascinating read in the 20th century.

Much more disciplined were Robert Marsham and his descendants who kept detailed records from the mid 1700s to 1958. Their records have become invaluable to modern day scientists. Read more here 

Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute is managing a phenological study close to us at Milner Gardens in Qualicum Beach.

Coastal Forest Plant Phenology Research and Monitoring Pilot:

"In partnership with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development and Milner Gardens & Woodland, MABRRI is working to assess and monitor climate change effects on local plant phenology – the timing of seasonally reoccurring events such as bud break, leaf size, flower development, and ripe fruit. By monitoring the growing seasons of different coastal plants, and by comparing these growing seasons to microclimate data, we can work to identify any potential changing trends in the growing seasons of Vancouver Island’s ecosystems". Read more here

Do you keep detailed records of changes in Nature? What do you consider the first sign of Spring? A garden elder advised me to watch for the blooming of forsythia in our area and not plant anything before. Do you agree?

If you want to go high tech with your observations download the app at inaturalist.ca

If you and your family would like something fun to do while observing nature join in with THE BACKYARDBIO GLOBAL NATURE CAMPAIGN sign up here 

Journey North is an organisation where you can record sightings of migratory species and information about habitats to support them. More info here