Phenology

The Woodland Trust run a phenology network which can be accessed at www.naturescalendar.org.uk - phenology is the recording of what is happening in nature over time, such as when do swallows fly back to Africa etc. The website collects records from thousands of volunteers and collates them to provide a picture about what is happening in the country, and compares them year on year, highlighting climatic effects.

The final swallow that I saw in Bradley Stoke was on the 9th September, and this has been recorded on the site. All of the summer migrants have probably gone by now, so now we await the winter arrivals such as Redwings and Fieldfares, although in the past 10 years I have only seen Redwings once in the garden. Look out for them, and record their arrival at Natures Calendar.