Signs of Spring 2024 – Citizen Science Survey Results
This post is greater than 6 months old - links may be broken or out of date. Proceed with caution!
By Amy Bandaranayake, Maddie Dorling and Teresa Collins
On Friday 5 January 2024, the Field Studies Council, in partnership with the Royal Society of Biology, launched Signs of Spring. The online survey encouraged people across the country to chart the arrival of spring. Members of the public were asked to look out for and record 10 different signs of spring via an online form. These signs were: bluebells, bumblebees, butterflies, daffodils, damselflies and dragonflies, frog spawn, hazel catkins, ladybirds, snowdrops and the first cut of the lawn. The live results were made available, via an online interactive map, so contributors were able to view responses across the country. The survey closed on Monday 17 June 2024, and the results can now be examined.
A total of 3,756 observations were recorded. Most recordings were located across the UK, with a small number in other locations around the globe including Ireland and the USA. The sign of spring observed most frequently was snowdrops, with 1,160 records submitted, followed by daffodils, with 828 sightings. The flowers of spring are clearly very noticeable. In the shorter days in early spring, when the weather is often inclement, snowdrops are particularly likely to standout. Snowdrops and daffodils were mostly recorded between January and April and people looking for these first signs of spring did a great job in spotting and recording these flowers.
Hazel catkins were the third most observed sign of spring, with 420 records, followed by bumblebees (409), bluebells (245), butterflies (221), ladybirds (193), first cut of the lawn (125), frog spawn (119) and damselflies/dragonflies (36). It is important to monitor species such as butterflies and bumblebees as their numbers continue to decrease across due to loss of habitat and lack of green space.
Bumblebees were the most spotted insect. The average temperature for sightings of bumblebees across the survey period was 10.6oC. The majority were spotted on sunny, partially sunny or cloudy days with only 20 sightings on showery days and none on days with heavy rain. Perhaps the relatively low temperatures over spring have resulted in a lower bumblebee count than would be expected with higher temperatures, but it is positive to see that the weather conditions indicate good validity to the sightings reported.
The signs of spring are traditionally seen first across the south of the UK and then appear in more northerly locations as days become warmer and lighter. Using the Signs of Spring Data Explorer, the data was interrogated to see if this trend was observed. Although it was not observed for all signs of spring, the correlation was most pronounced for frog spawn observations where there is a clear positive linear relationship between latitude and time. Other signs of spring, such as bumblebees, do not show such a strong relationship. This may be because these sightings are more opportunistic, whereas frogspawn will remain in one place. It is expected that signs of spring will appear earlier and earlier as climate change continues to warm the earth. An increase in average temperatures can cause flowers to bloom earlier than expected. This will have a knock-on effect on pollinators such as bees and butterflies and can impact whole ecosystems.
It is of note that the survey attracted people of all ages to take part from the under 15s to the over 85s. Most observations were made by those aged 55-74. Big cities, London in particular, are hotspots for observations in this survey. This is likely due to their population density and not necessarily an indication of more signs of spring in these areas.
One of the aims for this citizen science project was to give people the opportunity to get out, enjoy nature and appreciate the world around them, while contributing to this data set. Giving people specific, easy to recognise signs of spring to look out for, hopefully, allowed participants to engage better with their surroundings and make them more aware of the changes that happen during spring. The online survey was made easily accessible, with no app or login required, so people were able to submit data easily. Many signs of spring were observed very early in the year, showing keen public interest but also suggesting the survey should start earlier to fully track trends for indicators such as hazel catkins and snowdrops.
There are many benefits to citizen science, both to the people taking part and those collating the data. On an individual level, spending time outdoors and connecting to nature can have positive impacts on mental health and wellbeing. On a larger scale, big data sets can give a much better view of what is happening nationally than can otherwise be collected by a small group of scientists. However, this type of data does have its drawbacks with some compromises in accuracy and consistency. Some examples include sightings in the middle of a body of water, bumblebees recorded on 1st January, and a first cut of the lawn recording in the Greenland tundra, all of which seem unlikely. Despite these limitations the data collected, when handled properly, can give invaluable insights. It is hoped that, if repeated over several years, evidence of the changes happening in our environment can be monitored over longer periods of time. We hope that the participants of Signs of Spring enjoyed taking part in this year’s survey and that they will take part in future years or may even go on to contribute to other citizen science projects.
Find out more about the survey at: https://www.field-studies-council.org/signs-of-spring
https://www.field-studies-council.org
More from Field Studies Council