March: photographs of the month
Charlotte Armitage , 09/04/2018
Thank you to everyone for recording signs of spring this March. We’ve received 1452 records of wildlife events from 538 people.
A close up of two frogs with their spawn (David Stevens)
Frogs mating (Nic Stoker)
A frog with their spawn (Brian Dorsett)
You’ve also been sending photos and this month it’s been a record high since the launch of the website with 140 photographs being uploaded. We really enjoyed looking through them so please keep adding them with your observations.
Wood Anemone (Andrew Godfrey)
Rowan budburst (Emilie Bonnevay)
A close-up of a ladybird (Trudie Davidson)
A close-up of wood anemone (Sarah Lambert)
March highlights:
- Our most recorded event was frogspawn first seen with 239 records. We’ve also had 15 records of tadpoles first recorded showing that at least some survived the recent freezing conditions.
We saw an increase in fieldfare records as they entered gardens to forage during the snow (Jane Alesbrook)
Frogs spawning (Mark Hartl)
Fieldfare in the snow during the harsh conditions (Susan Turner)
- The first record of wheatear was received on the 15 March in Warwickshire, this is slightly earlier than expected.
Blackbird gathering nesting materials (Susan Ganderton-Jackson)
Our first wheatear record this season (Ian Hayward)
A close-up of a chiffchaff (Caroline Hooper)
- We have had 280 insect records: 81 brimstone butterflies; 55 small tortoiseshell; and 47 ladybirds. Hopefully these are a true sign that spring has arrived.
Peacock butterfly (Kay Shaw)
Ladybird (Susannah Davis)
Red admiral butterfly (Matthew Cornwell)
A queen wasp (Ian Parker)
So far we haven’t had any records of lilac, cuckoo or orange tip butterflies so we expect to receive records about these any time soon. Keep an eye out.
A newt having a swim! (Danielle Trace)
A close-up of a wood anemone flower (Heather Canning)
A huge thank you for all your sightings over March regardless of whether or not you uploaded photos. Every record helps scientists discover more about how UK wildlife is responding to a changing climate.
Small tortoiseshell butterfly (Dave Helliar)
Ladybird (Clare Eaton)
