Springwatch 2014

[gavin]

Travelling down to Edinburgh on Christmas Day, one thing that was noticeable was the state of the OSR fields. Generally in good shape, and also bushing up and maybe extending slightly as they do in late February or March some years. It has all the signs of being an early spring.

There were also two hazel trees in the Braid Burn Valley in the middle of Edinburgh in flower yesterday. Shoogly, dangly catkins and even a few female flowers which are essentially tight buds with red tongues sticking out. A little light pollen snack for any bees out and about.

[fatshark]

Hi Gavin
"An early Spring" … the OSR is in good shape here as well*. I also heard woodpeckers 'drumming' a fortnight ago, which is the earliest I remember. However, are these signs of an early Spring or a mild autumn/winter? I tend to think it means the latter rather than the former. I suspect we're still going to get a protracted cold period … and rather hope we do having rec'd my 500g tub of Oxalic Acid from Thorne's yesterday.

* I went for a walk on Christmas day around the local fields and reckon one third or more of the forage within range of one of my apiaries is OSR this year. Unsurprisingly, once the fields have drained a bit, I'll be installing a couple of additional hive stands their in preparation for a bumper harvest

[gavin]

Something of a philosophical question there - is the early spring just defined as warm days coming early or the signs of spring coming early? If the latter, it can be due to a mild early spring, late winter, a mild early winter, or maybe a mild autumn but that is debatable.

Some plants (and birds) will wait and watch the calendar (maybe taking cues from daylength) whereas other respond to the total accumulated warmth (eg the sum of day degrees above a certain number) since a certain period where the clock was set running (eg an autumn cold period or a certain daylength).

Plants that overwinter as rosettes (such as winter OSR) generally need a period of cold/cool weather before they extend upwards (given sufficient warmth). Presumably they got enough of that early on, and are now starting on spring-type growth.

[snimmo243]

I noticed daffodils poking through in Bathgate today

Steven