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A BBC article this past week, Warm spring ‘affecting wildlife’, relays findings from the Springwatch 2007 survey (64k pdf download) that shows some species are appearing earlier than expected. A warm spring has brought about the early arrival of some UK wildlife, such as the Red-tailed bumblebee, Seven-spot ladybird and Peacock butterfly. The conclusion of the survey raises one concern:

Mismatches of timing (synchrony), as plants, birds and insects are all responding at different rates.

Longstanding patterns of inter-relationship among flowers, insects and birds can be expected to undergo stress as some species thrive while others find their traditional food sources depleted by earlier arrivals.

Because we are heading into winter in Australia, you might consider working as a team or class to record what you notice when spring arrives. Just yesterday, I saw some crazy jonquils blossoming and we aren’t even in winter yet?!

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