Phenology - what this blog is all about.

This fine figure of a frog emerged from under the damp undergrowth as I was clearing up the garden on Saturday. It was good to get out and enjoy the milder sunnier weather and I think the frog felt the same. I suspect that it is a female full of eggs. There is very little water around for her to lay them in although I took her down to the pond and ditch and hope that the rain will help provide the environment she needs.

The loch is beginning to fill again and return to more normal levels as the snow gradually melts from the hills and mountains. The Campsies are nearly snow free now although there is still quite a lot lying in the gullies on the higher slopes.

It's strange how a word that you have never been aware of before sometimes crops up all over the place. In last month's Dumpling Times I noticed that the Park Rangers are working with children on a phenology project. I had never come across the word 'phenology' before but as the article explained it is the study of seasonal or cyclic changes, particularly in relation to climate, animals and plants.

After giving a talk about this blog at the local heritage group (on the basis that any record or diary kept now may become an archive in the future) a neighbour mentioned to me that the Woodland Trust undertake a national phenological survey that I might be interested in. As one of my reasons for writing this blog was to record changes it seemed a good idea to follow this up. Now that I have registered, observations I make can be recorded online at the Nature's Calendar site where it is also possible to see how Spring (when it finally arrives) advances from South to North across the UK. A very useful booklet gives guidelines on what to record and how to ensure that all observations are made when trees and flowers are at the same stage of development for consistency across the country. This will give me a new purpose when I am out and about - looking for budburst, full leaf and flowers in oaks, elms, and alders as well as recording the wildflowers.

These are still very late this year. There is just one clump of daffodils out by the post box brightening up everyone's day as they drive past. This little group is always ahead of all the others but is even earlier this year. They may be a particularly early variety but they are also in a very sunny and sheltered spot. In the woods and under the hedges, there are signs of some of the leaf shoots of the bluebells and wild garlic. A few more warm days is what we all need!

Can Spring be far away?

This has certainly been a hard winter - and also a long one. Although we are well into March and Mother's day has come and gone the daffodils are still struggling to appear. It feels as though we are waiting a long time for Spring to come

These photos show how much later everything is this year. The snowdrops that line the path down to the loch are beautiful every year. The photo on the left was taken on February 21st 2009 whilst the one on the right taken last weekend - March 14th 2010. As you can see they seem to be at much the same stage of development - just three weeks later this year. They were certainly late to appear as the ground was covered with snow throughout most of January when they generally first appear. Then, the harsh frosts of the last few weeks have battered them down every morning although they revived again in the sunshine later in the day.

It is not just Aber that is affected of course. The Woodland Trust reports that sightings of Spring Flowers are a month later this year than average. It will be interesting to see what impact this has on other species as the year unfolds.

The rest of the walk is unremittingly brown and bare. The dead grass has been flattened by snow and the trees are bare with no buds showing yet. The only hint of better times to come was the change in wind direction. After weeks of bitter easterlies it has begun to turn and was coming from the north west again and blowing the waves into Net Bay.

The quality of light has changed however and with nights and days being of almost equal length as the equinox approaches, spirits are lifted.

A Blog from the Bog

The village website (www.gartocharn.org) has been full of photos showing the snow-covered mountains and frosted trees and plants. Although the cold weather is back again with the easterlys blowing into the front door there have been a couple of days of relative thaw. The ground has not been quite as hard and after the snow the fields have been wet and boggy on top but still quite firm beneath which has made for easier walking to parts of the reserve I don't usually reach.

On the walk through Shore Wood to Net Bay there was a sudden whoosh and roar that preceded the raucous honking as a flock of

Canada and Greylag geese were disturbed on Lime Hill Field and all took to flight together. This is a favourite feeding ground for geese and there must have been two or three hundred in the cloud that flew over my head towards Ring Point at the mouth of the Endrick. We went on to Net Bay and observed how low the loch is still. Even after the snow the level hasn't risen much but that is probably dependent on the thaw that has yet to come.

After disturbing a heron, Rosie discovered she could walk on water. There was still thick ice at the base of the channels but these had thawed on top and then refrozen with a thin layer of ice on the surface. This meant that she could run and slide across the surface which she did very excitedly. It is going to be a long time until the ice fully disperses where it is so thick and hard.

We looked out for otters as there was evidence from the spraints (droppings) that we found that this was part of their territory. I guess that the ice will have forced them into the Endrick and the loch to search for food.

Although the signs of Spring are very hard to find, (the poor snowdrops that were delayed by the thick January snow get knocked back every night with the hard frosts but revive when bathed in what little sunshine there is) the last couple of days have felt spring like and it's hard to figure out why. Everything in the wood is grey and brown, the bracken flattened and no signs of green shoots yet. However, the quality of light seems somehow different which lifts the spirits and makes me feel that it will not be long until the telltale signs appear. All we need is a few warm days.