Rippingale nature columnist Ian Misselbrook shares the signs that spring is on the way

At this time of year, I always find myself charting the arrival and progress of spring, writes Rippingale nature columnist Ian Misselbrook.

Botanically the main influence is daylight length, but there is now a lot of evidence to prove that climate change; particularly temperature, also has a bearing on flowering times. The run of mild winters encouraged plants to flower earlier than usual, so it is interesting to see whether the much colder winter that we have all endured has reversed that trend.

Certainly, snowdrops bloomed later in our garden this winter, but in the woods, I could not discern any change in the flowering of the first primroses. I would be interested to know what our readers have discovered.

The succession of flowering plants in our woods and hedgerows is easy to follow in the opening weeks of spring with dandelions and coltsfoot hot on the heels of the primroses, the latter getting its name from the alleged resemblance to the foot of a horse. By late March or early April when the cowslips are in flower, so too are scores of other plants, sufficient to engage the attention of most naturalists.

The progress of spring can also be measured in bird song. Few birds sing during the winter months; the exception being dunnocks and robins. For most species of bird only the males sing. This is to establish their nesting territories and to attract a mate. Robins are again an exception as both sexes hold territories in the winter and defend the boundaries with both song and aggressive behaviour, even to their prospective future mates. Dunnocks also sing during the winter. As dunnocks are notoriously polygamous, perhaps they have to sing more often to attract numerous mates!

So, discounting the winter songsters, I note the first bursts of song from our residents. Song thrushes disappear from our gardens in late summer, after the nesting season and some may migrate south and even reach Spain. They return in late winter and in some years I have heard one singing in our garden as early as December, but this year I heard the first song on January 7th and every morning since then.

Greater-spotted woodpeckers employ an alternative to song to establish their territories by drumming rapidly on branches or trunks of trees. I heard the first drumming in the garden on January 28, but since then only on the rare sunny mornings. The dull cold mornings that we have seen too many of seem to be a turn off for the woodpeckers too. As I write in mid-February most of our resident birds are on territory and in song, but there are also many of our winter visitors still present, so maybe winter is harbouring a sting in its tail?