What is phenology

Phenology is the study of the times of recurring natural phenomena especially in relation to climate. It is recording when you heard the first cuckoo or saw the blackthorn blossom. This can then be compared with other records.

Records from the past

In Japan and China the time of blossoming of cherry and peach trees is associated with ancient festivals and some of these dates can be traced back to the eighth century. Robert Marsham was Britain's first phenologist and started recording his 'Indications of Spring' as early as 1736.The first individual records that we have found so far are from a Weather Diary from Egioke (near Redditch) from March 1703.

Development in British phenology

In 1875 British phenology took a major leap forward when the Royal Meteorological Society established a national recorder network. Annual reports were published up until 1948.

Aware of the vital importance of continuous records, Tim Sparks, research biologist at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Cambridge, started a pilot scheme in 1998 to revive a phenology network in the UK that would be both compatible with historic records and current international schemes.

In autumn 2000 the Woodland Trust forces joined with the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology to promote phenology to a far wider and larger audience. Over 24,000 people across the UK are now actively involved with the UK Phenology Network, around half of them online. In 2005 the UKPN joined forces with the BBC to launch the Springwatch and Autumnwatch surveys, the biggest ever surveys into the timing of the arrival of the seasons. Over 100,000 people contributed 200,000 observations in 2005. The surveys are continuing in 2006. Visit bbc.co.uk/springwatch for more.