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Nature lies dormant ahead of first day of spring Nature lies dormant ahead of first day of spring
(about 7 hours later)
One hundred years ago, on the official first day of spring, the Anglo-Welsh war poet and naturalist Edward Thomas set off from Clapham Common in London to cycle and walk to the Quantock Hills in Somerset. The record of his journey, called In Pursuit of Spring, became a nature-writing classic, telling of exuberant chiffchaff and house martins, daffodils and cowslips in full flower and "honeysuckle in such profusion as I had never before seen". One hundred years ago, on the official first day of spring, the Anglo-Welsh war poet and naturalist Edward Thomas set off from Clapham Common in London to cycle and walk to the Quantock Hills in Somerset. The record of his journey, called In Pursuit of Spring, became a nature-writing classic, telling of exuberant chiffchaffs and house martins, daffodils and cowslips in full flower and "honeysuckle in such profusion as I had never before seen".
Had Thomas taken the same route today, he might not have seen very much wildlife – and could well have frozen. Mist and fog, rain, a bitter north wind, and temperatures just above freezing are forecast for Wednesday, the first "official" day of spring. The run-up, says the Met Office, has been marked by deep snow blanketing much of eastern Scotland, temperatures reaching -8C in Oxfordshire, very few daffodils blooming in Wales, weather warnings in the north of England, nature hibernating and occasional bursts of spring sunshine. Had Thomas taken the same route today, he might not have seen very much wildlife – and could well have frozen. Mist and fog, rain, a bitter north wind, and temperatures just above freezing are forecast for , the first "official" day of spring.

/>It is, says Matthew Oates, a naturalist working with the National Trust, the opposite of the same time last year, when a heatwave combined with a drought and resulted in wildfires, hosepipe bans, packed beaches and record sales of ice cream and garden plants. Then, he says, the daffodils were nearly over by 21 March, the bluebells were well out, and the birds had long been nesting. 		The runup, says the Met Office, has been marked by deep snow blanketing much of eastern Scotland, temperatures as low as -8C in Oxfordshire, very few daffodils blooming in Wales, weather warnings in the north of England, nature hibernating and occasional bursts of spring sunshine.
It is, says Matthew Oates, a naturalist working with the National Trust, the opposite of the same time last year, when a heatwave combined with a drought and resulted in wildfires, hosepipe bans, packed beaches and record sales of ice cream and garden plants. Back then, he says, the daffodils were nearly over by 21 March, the bluebells were well out, and the birds had long been nesting.
"There is an eternal push-and-pull relationship between spring and winter. The battle is usually at its fiercest during February, but can last well into April. This is a very late spring indeed. The trees are barely out. There's a bit of hawthorn and blackthorn and some pussy willow, but they are way off leafing. There's absolutely no sign of chestnuts, the bluebells have barely moved, the primroses are very slow and the birds coming up from Europe are being held back by the northerly winds. Only the rooks are keeping going. They just don't care about the cold. They are building their nests wonderfully.""There is an eternal push-and-pull relationship between spring and winter. The battle is usually at its fiercest during February, but can last well into April. This is a very late spring indeed. The trees are barely out. There's a bit of hawthorn and blackthorn and some pussy willow, but they are way off leafing. There's absolutely no sign of chestnuts, the bluebells have barely moved, the primroses are very slow and the birds coming up from Europe are being held back by the northerly winds. Only the rooks are keeping going. They just don't care about the cold. They are building their nests wonderfully."
Conservationists have been taken by surprise after a decade or more of warm weather arriving on average two weeks earlier than it used to.Conservationists have been taken by surprise after a decade or more of warm weather arriving on average two weeks earlier than it used to.
"We have had just 22 sightings across Britain of horse chestnut trees in budburst. This time last year we had 129. I asked 300 colleagues to look out for ladybirds, thinking there would be lots and not one has been seen," said Dr Kate Lewthwaite, who manages the Woodland Trust's Nature's Calendar project, that records the first signs of the seasons. "The trend has been for warmer springs. This is quite exceptional. But it's been stop-start. You get a few mild days when everything happens and then it stops. We've had three peaks of activity so far." "We have had just 22 sightings across Britain of horse chestnut trees in budburst. This time last year we had 129. I asked 300 colleagues to look out for ladybirds, thinking there would be lots, and not one has been seen," says Dr Kate Lewthwaite, who manages the Woodland Trust's Nature's Calendar project, which records the first signs of the seasons. "The trend has been for warmer springs. This is quite exceptional. But it's been stop-start. You get a few mild days when everything happens and then it stops. We've had three peaks of activity so far."
Scotland has been particularly hard hit, said Deborah Long of Plantlife Scotland. "In the garden crocuses are late while snowdrops are still looking good. The wood anemones and lesser celandines are just showing leaf but the blackthorn, one of first shrubs to flower in spring, is still in tight bud. There is no sign of the spike in bluebells yet." Scotland has been particularly hard hit, says Deborah Long of Plantlife Scotland. "In the garden crocuses are late while snowdrops are still looking good. The wood anemones and lesser celandines are just showing leaf but the blackthorn, one of first shrubs to flower in spring, is still in tight bud. There is no sign of the spike in bluebells yet."
Instead, groups like Butterfly Conservation, Buglife and the Bat Conservation Trust report minimum life above ground and species like frogs and lizards going back into hibernation. Instead, groups such as the Bat Conservation Trust, Buglife and Butterfly Conservation are reporting minimum life above ground and species such as frogs and lizards going back into hibernation. "It seems that spring has been postponed," says Long. "It started but it's halted. Plants have just stopped. But spring in Scotland is never usual. You never know what you are getting."
"It seems that spring has been postponed. It started but it's halted. Plants have just stopped. But spring in Scotland is never usual. You never know what you are getting," said Long. Opinions are divided over the impact of a cold, late spring. "Those creatures that do emerge will find little in the way of food such as insects," says the Woodland Trust's assistant conservation adviser, Kay Haw. "Dormice and hedgehogs spend most of their time before hibernation fattening themselves up so they can survive this dormant period. But if they do not have enough fat reserves, perhaps because of a lack of food or an extended period of hibernation due to a long, cold winter, they can die.
Opinions are divided over the impact of a cold, late spring. "Those creatures that do emerge will find little in the way of food, such as insects," said the Woodland Trust's assistant conservation adviser, Kay Haw. "Dormice and hedgehogs spend most of their time before hibernation fattening themselves up so they can survive this dormant period. But if they do not have enough fat reserves, perhaps because of a lack of food or an extended period of hibernation due to a long cold winter, they can die. Bats are a similar story, and, even if they did come out, there would be virtually no insect food around because it is just too cold for most invertebrates at the moment." "Bats are a similar story, and, even if they did come out, there would be virtually no insect food around because it is just too cold for most invertebrates at the moment."
With the next few days unlikely to see much change, the £5bn-a-year British garden industry is hoping that April and May will turn their financial fortunes around. "When the sun comes out, so do the people," says Tim Briercliffe, director of business development with the Horticultural Trades Association. "Garden centres and nurseries can expect to take 40% of their income in March, April and May. March is supposed to be the warm-up for the season but this year has been truly awful. There are not many lawnmowers being used. As far as we are concerned, spring hasn't started yet." With the next few days unlikely to see much change, the £5bn-a-year British garden industry is hoping that April and May will turn its financial fortunes around. "When the sun comes out, so do the people," says Tim Briercliffe, director of business development at the Horticultural Trades Association. "Garden centres and nurseries can expect to take 40% of their income in March, April and May. March is supposed to be the warm-up for the season but this year has been truly awful. There are not many lawnmowers being used. As far as we are concerned, spring hasn't started yet."
Because spring is so late this year, it could be "dazzling" when it comes, said Oates. "It certainly will happen. And when it does, it could be absolutely spectacular. It will erupt, we will have lift-off. Everything could come at one time. The danger is that the magnificence of spring will then just run headlong into summer. It may be a case of blink and you miss it." Because spring is so late this year, it could be "dazzling" when it comes, says Oates. "It certainly will happen. And when it does, it could be absolutely spectacular. It will erupt, we will have lift-off. Everything could come at one time. The danger is that the magnificence of spring will then just run headlong into summer. It may be a case of blink and you miss it."
Oates quotes Thomas, writing about the wait for an early 20th-century blast of spring: Oates quotes Thomas, writing about the wait for an early 20th-century blast of spring: "It is not yet spring. Spring is being dreamed, and the dream is more wonderful and blessed than ever was spring."
"It is not yet spring. Spring is being dreamed, and the dream is more wonderful and blessed than ever was spring." "That's it," says Oates. "It expresses perfectly the first day of spring 2013."
"That's it," said Oates. "It expresses perfectly the first day of spring 2013."