Bluebells, Frogspawn, Birds' Eggs, Flowering Trees - UK Experiencing Earliest Biological Spring Ever Recorded
Bluebells are flowering, swallows are returning and orange-tip butterflies are flying in what could become Britain’s earliest recorded spring. Records for early spring occurrences are being smashed as 2026 looks to be the earliest this century for frogspawn laying, blackbirds nesting, brimstone butterflies emerging and hazel flowering, according to Nature’s Calendar, which has logged citizen science records of seasonal change since 2000.
This spring has had the earliest egg-laying in an 80-year study of great tits in Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, with the 23 March sighting beating the previous record by three days. The birds’ average egg-laying has moved forward by 16 days since the 1960s, with these tits and other species needing to ensure their chicks are fed on caterpillars emerging with the new spring leaves. Dunsford Woods, in Devon, has logged its earliest tit egg – in the nest of a coal tit – since records began in 1955. Record-breaking early tit egg-laying has been seen in the Netherlands as well, reflecting dramatic climatic shifts across northern Europe.
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According to provisional figures for Nature’s Calendar, the first frogspawn was laid on average on 23 February, well before the previous earliest average of 5 March; blackbirds were nesting by 4 March and hazel was flowering on 14 January – eight days before the previous earliest average of 22 January in 2024. These averages could change as more records are submitted.This spring’s growth has been turbo-charged by a relatively warm winter, one of the wettest ever Januaries in many places, and Britain’s joint 10th warmest March on record.
Fears that global heating could jeopardise wildlife, with cold snaps killing off frogspawn and insects and blossom tempted out prematurely by early sunshine, have not come to pass so far this year, although spring species could yet get a battering from Storm Dave.Grahame Madge, a spokesperson for the Met Office, said the cold spells during the warm March were typical for the month. “March is in effect a transitional month between winter and spring. The month can lean into either direction. Getting the odd cold spell in March isn’t unusual; nature is well cushioned to be able to deal with the odd cold spell here or there and I wouldn’t be too alarmed with that being a sign of climate change.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/04/birds-butterflies-britain-shows-signs-of-earliest-spring-on-record