BBC Nature - In pictures: The earliest signs of spring

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class="bbccom_advert_placeholder"> <script type="text/javascript">$render("advert","advert-leaderboard");</script> </div> <script type="text/javascript">$render("advert-post-script-load");</script> </div> <div id="bbccom_custom_branding"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ if(typeof bbcdotcom.objects('bbcdotcom.branding.init') === 'function') { bbcdotcom.branding.init(BBC.adverts.getZoneData().zone, BBC.adverts.getAdKeyword()); bbcdotcom.branding.write(); } /*]]>*/ </script> <div class="bbccom_advert_placeholder"> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ $render("advert","advert-sponsor-subsection"); /*]]>*/ </script> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ $render("advert-post-script-load"); /*]]>*/ </script>  <div id="main-content" class="photo-gallery blq-clearfix"> <div class="layout-block-a"> <span class="story-date"> <span class="date">17 January 2014</span> <span class="time-text">Last updated at </span><span class="time">15:08</span> </span> <h1 class="story-header">In pictures: The earliest signs of spring</h1> <div class="bbccom_advert_placeholder"> <script type="text/javascript">$render("advert","advert-sponsor-section",'BBC Nature - In pictures: The earliest signs of spring');</script> </div> <script type="text/javascript">$render("advert-post-script-load");</script> <div id="pictureGallery"> <noscript> <ul id="gallery" class="noscript"> <li id="picGalleryNoScript_1"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356076_frogspawn-alanbarker.jpg"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356543_frogspawn-alanbarker.jpg" width="144" height="81" alt="Frogspawn by Alan Barker"/></a> <span class="picGalCaption">The Woodland Trust say they have received a surge in records of the early signs of spring in their ongoing study of the seasons. Keen photographers from the Winterwatch Flickr group have also been cataloguing their findings, such as this frogspawn by Alan Barker.</span> </li> <li id="picGalleryNoScript_2"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356077_catkins-deborahrigden.jpg"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356544_catkins-deborahrigden.jpg" width="144" height="81" alt="Catkins by Deborah Rigden"/></a> <span class="picGalCaption">Deborah Rigden photographed these catkins. "I was quite surprised to see them this early in the year but it has been quite a mild winter so far and very wet, they are hazel catkins and seem to be at different stages of growth which I've noticed in past years" she said.</span> </li> <li id="picGalleryNoScript_3"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356078_ladybird-mariajustamond.jpg"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356545_ladybird-mariajustamond.jpg" width="144" height="81" alt="Ladybird by Maria Justamond"/></a> <span class="picGalCaption">Dr Kate Lewthwaite from the Woodland Trust manages the Nature's Calendar project, which records sightings of natural events throughout the year. "Spring is becoming earlier and earlier," she says. "The kind of January that we are having now is becoming almost the norm."</span> </li> <li id="picGalleryNoScript_4"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356079_snowdrops-iankirk.jpg"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356546_snowdrops-iankirk.jpg" width="144" height="81" alt="Snowdrops by Ian Kirk "/></a> <span class="picGalCaption">Ian Kirk goes hunting for early snowdrops in a Dorset churchyard most years. "I always get a 'lift' seeing the first ones flowering in January - it tells me that spring is not that far away!" he says.</span> </li> <li id="picGalleryNoScript_5"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356080_bee-jameslennie.jpg"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356547_bee-jameslennie.jpg" width="144" height="81" alt="Bee by James Lennie"/></a> <span class="picGalCaption">James Lennie caught this early flyer but says he "wasn't surprised to see that bee as they have been out and about for a few weeks now. There were at least five bees in that wintersweet bush". He took this image in his garden earlier this week.</span> </li> <li id="picGalleryNoScript_6"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356081_hares-richardives.jpg"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356548_hares-richardives.jpg" width="144" height="81" alt="Boxing Hares by Richard Ives"/></a> <span class="picGalCaption">Richard Ives took this photo of boxing hares and tells BBC Nature "they are always more frisky with the sun on their backs even if its freezing and there is snow on the ground." Nature's Calendar invites the public to upload their records via the website.</span> </li> </ul> </noscript> </div> <div id="page-bookmark-links-foot" class="share-help"> <h3>Share this page</h3> <ul> <li class="delicious"> <a title="Post this story to Delicious" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://del.icio.us/post?url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/25778341&title=BBC+Nature+-+In+pictures%3A+The+earliest+signs+of+spring">Delicious</a> </li> <li class="digg"> <a title="Post this story to Digg" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://digg.com/submit?url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/25778341&title=BBC+Nature+-+In+pictures%3A+The+earliest+signs+of+spring">Digg</a> </li> <li class="facebook"> <a title="Post this story to Facebook" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/25778341&t=BBC+Nature+-+In+pictures%3A+The+earliest+signs+of+spring">Facebook</a> </li> <li class="reddit"> <a 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href="?print=true">Print</a> </li> </ul>  <div class="bbccom_advert_placeholder"> <script type="text/javascript">$render("advert","advert-sponsor-module","page-bookmark-links");</script> </div> <script type="text/javascript">$render("advert-post-script-load");</script> </div> <script type="text/javascript">  </script> <div class="related"> <h2>Related Stories</h2> <ul> <li class="first"> <a href="/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/25372257">Nature's 12 days of Christmas</a> </li> <li class="even"> <a href="/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/25464563">Ups and downs for nocturnal species</a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/22694347">How to do a wildlife survey</a> </li> </ul> </div>  <div class="related-internet"> <h2>Related Internet links</h2> <ul> <li class="first"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.naturescalendar.org.uk/">Nature's Calendar</a> </li> </ul> </div>  <div class="hyperpuff"> <div 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src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74583000/jpg/_74583496_femalecommondarter.jpg" alt="Female common darter"/> </a> </h3> <p>Colourful dragon and damselflies recorded in survey.</p> </li> <li class="child-5"> <h3> <a href="/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/26737595"> Garden birds <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/73827000/jpg/_73827349_andybrown-woodpecker.jpg" alt="Great spotted woodpecker"/> </a> </h3> <p>The top bird visitors to British gardens have been revealed in the results of an RSPB survey.</p> </li> <li class="child-6"> <h3> <a href="/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/23771212"> Celebrating ecology <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/69405000/jpg/_69405798_4574-5567131176.cat3.jpg" alt="Black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) pair greeting one another, Saunders Island, Falkland Islands."/> </a> </h3> <p>Winning images from the British Ecological Society's annual competition</p> </li> <li class="child-7"> <h3> <a href="/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/23343737"> Butterflies count <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/68786000/jpg/_68786520_peacock-phil-macmurdie.jpg" alt="Peacock butterfly"/> </a> </h3> <p>Public urged to count butterflies amid falling numbers</p> </li> <li class="child-8"> <h3> <a href="/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/23080294"> Dino colours <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/68435000/jpg/_68435630_sinosauropteryx_recon_big.jpg" alt="Artist's impression of the original colours of the feathered dinosaur Sinosauropteryx"/> </a> </h3> <p>How can we reconstruct the colours of dinosaurs from fossils?</p> </li> <li class="last-child"> <h3> <a href="/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/27324314"> Whitley awards <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74727000/jpg/_74727065_juvenileorangutanclimbingtree.jpg" alt="Juvenile orangutan climbing tree (c) Melvin Gumal "/> </a> </h3> <p>Recognising the world's conservationists</p> </li> </ul> </div> <script type="text/javascript">$render("more-galleries","more-galleries");</script> </div> </div>  <script type="text/javascript"> $render("photo-gallery","pictureGallery",{ galleryWidth: 976, slideShowHeight: 549, itemsData: { "version" : "0.2", "storyId" : "25778341", "images" : [ { "imageType" : "story", "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356076_frogspawn-alanbarker.jpg", "caption" : "The Woodland Trust say they have received a surge in records of the early signs of spring in their ongoing study of the seasons. Keen photographers from the Winterwatch Flickr group have also been cataloguing their findings, such as this frogspawn by Alan Barker.", "alt" : "Frogspawn by Alan Barker", "thumbnail" : { "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356543_frogspawn-alanbarker.jpg", "alt" : "Frogspawn by Alan Barker" } }, { "imageType" : "story", "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356077_catkins-deborahrigden.jpg", "caption" : "Deborah Rigden photographed these catkins. \"I was quite surprised to see them this early in the year but it has been quite a mild winter so far and very wet, they are hazel catkins and seem to be at different stages of growth which I\'ve noticed in past years\" she said.", "alt" : "Catkins by Deborah Rigden", "thumbnail" : { "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356544_catkins-deborahrigden.jpg", "alt" : "Catkins by Deborah Rigden" } }, { "imageType" : "story", "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356078_ladybird-mariajustamond.jpg", "caption" : "Dr Kate Lewthwaite from the Woodland Trust manages the Nature\'s Calendar project, which records sightings of natural events throughout the year. \"Spring is becoming earlier and earlier,\" she says. \"The kind of January that we are having now is becoming almost the norm.\"", "alt" : "Ladybird by Maria Justamond", "thumbnail" : { "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356545_ladybird-mariajustamond.jpg", "alt" : "Ladybird by Maria Justamond" } }, { "imageType" : "story", "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356079_snowdrops-iankirk.jpg", "caption" : "Ian Kirk goes hunting for early snowdrops in a Dorset churchyard most years. \"I always get a \'lift\' seeing the first ones flowering in January - it tells me that spring is not that far away!\" he says.", "alt" : "Snowdrops by Ian Kirk ", "thumbnail" : { "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356546_snowdrops-iankirk.jpg", "alt" : "Snowdrops by Ian Kirk " } }, { "imageType" : "story", "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356080_bee-jameslennie.jpg", "caption" : "James Lennie caught this early flyer but says he \"wasn\'t surprised to see that bee as they have been out and about for a few weeks now. There were at least five bees in that wintersweet bush\". He took this image in his garden earlier this week.", "alt" : "Bee by James Lennie", "thumbnail" : { "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356547_bee-jameslennie.jpg", "alt" : "Bee by James Lennie" } }, { "imageType" : "story", "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356081_hares-richardives.jpg", "caption" : "Richard Ives took this photo of boxing hares and tells BBC Nature \"they are always more frisky with the sun on their backs even if its freezing and there is snow on the ground.\" Nature\'s Calendar invites the public to upload their records via the website.", "alt" : "Boxing Hares by Richard Ives", "thumbnail" : { "src" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72356000/jpg/_72356548_hares-richardives.jpg", "alt" : "Boxing Hares by Richard Ives" } } ] } }); </script>  </div>  </div>  </div> </div>  <div id="blq-foot" xml:lang="en-GB" class="blq-rst blq-clearfix blq-foot-transparent blq-foot-text-dark"> <div id="blq-footlinks"> <h2 class="blq-hide">BBC links</h2> <ul> <li class="blq-footlinks-row"> <ul class="blq-footlinks-row-list"> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://m.bbc.co.uk/" id="blq-footer-mobile">Mobile site</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/terms/">Terms of Use</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/">About the BBC</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="blq-footlinks-row"> <ul class="blq-footlinks-row-list"> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://advertising.bbcworldwide.com/">Advertise With Us</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/privacy/">Privacy</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/">Accessibility Help</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="blq-footlinks-row"> <ul class="blq-footlinks-row-list"> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/privacy/cookies/international/">Ad Choices</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/privacy/cookies/about">Cookies</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/">Contact the BBC</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="blq-footlinks-row"> <ul class="blq-footlinks-row-list"> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidance/">Parental Guidance</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/ (function() { var mLink = document.getElementById('blq-footer-mobile'), stick = function() { var d = new Date (); d.setYear(d.getFullYear() + 1); d = d.toUTCString(); window.bbccookies.set('ckps_d=m;domain=.bbc.co.uk;path=/;expires=' + d ); window.bbccookies.set('ckps_d=m;domain=.bbc.com;path=/;expires=' + d ); }; if (mLink) { if (mLink.addEventListener) { mLink.addEventListener('click', stick, false); } else if (mLink.attachEvent) { mLink.attachEvent('onclick', stick); } } })(); /*]]>*/</script> </div> <div id="blq-foot-blocks" class="blq-footer-image-dark"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602im_/http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/2.83.4/desktop/3.5/img/blocks/dark.png" width="84" height="24" alt="BBC"/></div> <p id="blq-disclaim"><span id="blq-copy">Copyright © 2015 BBC.</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150218054602/http://www.bbc.co.uk/help/web/links/">The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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BBC Nature - In pictures: The earliest signs of spring