The first official signs of spring have already been spotted in Bristol – despite sub-zero January temperatures, widespread flooding and snowfall.
People across the nation have already reported the first tangible signs that spring is on its way, including daffodils and bumblebees.
Despite the cold and dark winter, ‘citizen scientists’ from up and down the country have been logging the sightings just days into the New Year. Last year, the Woodland Trust warned climate change was causing earlier signs of spring to become the norm.
And within the first few days of 2025, members of the public have reported seeing daffodils in bloom and the first bumblebee was seen in Bristol on January 5. Snowdrops have been sighted as far north as Scotland, Lancaster and York, down to areas of Birmingham and Cheltenham.
Environmental education charity the Field Studies Council have launched the Signs of Spring Survey 2025 in partnership with the Royal Society of Biology.
The survey, which was conducted for the first time last year, attracted more than 2,700 submissions in 2024 with the first sightings also in early January.
Helen Robertson, from the Field Studies Council, said: “The data we collect this year will be added to the 2024 survey information so we can start to build a picture of how climate change is impacting the emergence of spring biodiversity.
“The bigger the data set, the more accurate picture we can get of what is happening to the plants and insects that we rely on, so citizen scientists have a huge role to play.
“Anyone can take part, from school children to pensioners, and we will be collecting information from January through to the end of June.”
The Signs of Spring Survey asks members of the public to record when they first see 10 different signals of warmer weather, including daffodils and bumblebees.
Last year, snowdrops (1,160 sightings) and daffodils (828) were the most recorded signs, followed by hazel catkins (420), bumblebees (409), bluebells (245), butterflies (221), ladybirds (193), first cut of the lawn (125), frog spawn (119) and damselflies and dragonflies (36).
Helen added: “As expected, most – but not all – signs of Spring are spotted in the south first, then move north as the weather warms up.
“The results of the survey will help us to map trends over time, giving us definitive evidence of whether climate change is having an effect on our seasonal species.
“It is also important that we continue to monitor species such as butterflies and bumblebees, as their numbers continue to decrease across the UK due to loss of habitat and lack of green space.”
Susie Rabin, associate director of communications and public affairs at the Royal Society of Biology, added: “Spotting the positive signs of spring and noticing the changes of the season for the better is a great way for people to get outside.
“Almost like an interactive game, the survey helps us be more mindful of our surroundings as well as contributing important data to help us better understand nature’s rhythms and cycles around us.”
Speaking last year, Dr Judith Garforth, citizen science officer at the Woodland Trust, said: “The general trend is continuing with spring arriving earlier and becoming something like the new norm.
“Our data provides the clearest evidence of a changing climate affecting wildlife.”
Sightings can be logged through the Signs of Spring portal here.