Arrivals/​Departures, 2016

Utrecht Centraal Train Sta­tion, Netherlands

First com­mis­sioned by Pub­lic Works for Utrecht Centraal Train Sta­tion, 2016 – 18

Sources: Coun­try Notes and a Nature Cal­en­dar (E.W. Swan­ton, 1938), natuurkal​ender​.nl, naturetoday​.com, soorten​bank​.nl, ver​spreiding​sat​las​.nl, vleer​muis​net​.nl, vlin​der​net​.nl, vlinder​sticht​ing​.nl, waarnem​ing​.nl, wilde​-planten​.nl, zoog​di​ervereniging​.nl, Brit­ish Trust for Ornithology.

With thanks to: Jelle Reumer and Arnold van Vliet (Wagen­in­gen Uni­ver­sity, Netherlands).

Arrivals/​Departures spans 12 months between May 1016 and May 2017. Togeth­er with Wagen­in­gen Uni­ver­sity, Neth­er­lands, Mar­cus com­piled a cal­en­dar of nature events for every day of the year that occur annu­ally in the Neth­er­lands. These events were once integ­ral to recog­nising and mark­ing time across the chan­ging sea­sons. Par­tic­u­larly in urb­an envir­on­ments the daily events in nature have become less sig­ni­fic­ant to us as they become less vis­ible and decreas­ingly unfamiliar. 

A large led dis­play was installed out­side the entrance of Utrecht Train Sta­tion announ­cing the daily arrivals and depar­tures in nature across the year.

A print ver­sion of the Nature Cal­ender was giv­en away free to the pub­lic and became a teach­ing aid in loc­al schools. Across the year Mar­cus instig­ated per­form­ances based on cel­eb­rat­ing some of these nature events. These were designed as con­tem­por­ary rituals for the pub­lic to par­ti­cip­ate in. See Pro­jects — Arrivals/​Departures Rituals

May

⁰¹⁄₀₅ Female cuckoos arriving.
⁰²⁄₀₅ The first night­jars arrive, churring and wing clap­ping at dusk.
⁰³⁄₀₅ Wild blue­bells are in full flower in the woods.
⁰⁴⁄₀₅ Young tawny owls may be call­ing now, before they have broken out of their egg.
05/05 The first young grebes have hatched and are car­ried on the backs of their parents.
⁰⁶⁄₀₅ Spot­ted flycatch­ers are arriv­ing from Africa.
⁰⁷⁄₀₅ The first golden ori­oles can be heard.
⁰⁸⁄₀₅ Oaks in flower, pro­du­cing a lot of pollen.
⁰⁹⁄₀₅ Orange tip and holly blue but­ter­flies on wing.
¹⁰⁄₀₅ The last of the sum­mer migrants arrive: swifts are scream­ing across the sky.
¹¹⁄₀₅ Oxeye daisy in flower. 
¹²⁄₀₅ But­ter­flies abound: speckled wood, wall brown, green-veined white, dingy skip­per on wing.
¹³⁄₀₅ Mead­ow frog­hop­pers are appear­ing from their foam ​‘cuckoo spit’ nests.
¹⁴⁄₀₅ Young moles are being born.
¹⁵⁄₀₅ Young eels start ascend­ing rivers from the sea.
¹⁶⁄₀₅ Bog­bean and yel­low iris in flower along the banks of ponds.
¹⁷⁄₀₅ The air is full of black­bird song.
¹⁸⁄₀₅ Ash are com­ing into leaf, one of the last trees of the spring.
¹⁹⁄₀₅ Swal­low­tail but­ter­flies are on the wing.
²⁰⁄₀₅ The first red deer calves of the year are being born.
²¹⁄₀₅ Young great tits are leav­ing their nests.
²²⁄₀₅ Most swifts have laid an egg under loose roof tiles.
²³⁄₀₅ Mistle thrushes cease singing, their work done.
²⁴⁄₀₅ Fox cubs are emer­ging from their earths and play­ing above the ground.
²⁵⁄₀₅ Com­mon spot­ted orch­id, com­mon mal­low, yel­low tattle are in flower.
²⁶⁄₀₅ Brightly col­oured garden tiger moths are on the wing.
²⁷⁄₀₅ Hum­ming­bird hawk-moths are on the wing, look­ing for nectar.
²⁸⁄₀₅ The first cad­dis­flies are emerging.
²⁹⁄₀₅ Robins have their second brood; the young of the first brood have left their nest.
³⁰⁄₀₅ Mead­ows are full of buttercups.
³¹⁄₀₅ Pois­on­ous hound’s tongue is in flower. 

June

⁰¹⁄₀₆ Most Euras­i­an hob­bies have laid an egg.
⁰²⁄₀₆ The flower­ing peri­od of the less­er but­ter­fly orch­id begins.
⁰³⁄₀₆ Female cuckoos are vis­it­ing nests, remov­ing one of the eggs to lay one of their own.
⁰⁴⁄₀₆ Wild dog roses are blooming.
⁰⁵⁄₀₆ Hedge­hogs are giv­ing birth.
06/06 Extremely pois­on­ous deadly night­shade or bel­ladonna in flower.
⁰⁷⁄₀₆ Mead­ow­sweet with large white plumes is flower­ing in damp meadows.
⁰⁸⁄₀₆ Rough chervil is in flower.
⁰⁹⁄₀₆ The green tortrix moth is look­ing for suit­able leaves to roll them into egg cases.
¹⁰⁄₀₆ Snipe are dis­play­ing by fly­ing down­wards mak­ing a ​‘drum­ming’ noise with their vibrat­ing tail feathers.
¹¹⁄₀₆ Most of the female reed warblers have laid their eggs.
¹²⁄₀₆ Pop­pies are flower­ing in fields, on unused sites and road sides.
¹³⁄₀₆ Stag beetles are emerging.
¹⁴⁄₀₆ Young swal­lows are big enough to start leav­ing their nests.
¹⁵⁄₀₆ The first edible giant puff­balls are appear­ing in meadows.
¹⁶⁄₀₆ Large and small tor­toise­shell but­ter­flies can be seen.
¹⁷⁄₀₆ Bats are fully act­ive, each catch­ing thou­sands of insects at night.
¹⁸⁄₀₅ Scotch bon­net fungi sud­denly appear in pas­tures and some­times in fairy-rings.
¹⁹⁄₀₆ Young har­vest mice are in their woven grass nests sus­pen­ded between stalks.
²⁰⁄₀₆ Black­birds stop brood­ing and stop their pas­sion­ate singing.
²¹⁄₀₆ The first young toads are mov­ing onto dry land.
²²⁄₀₆ Small skip­per but­ter­flies are on the wing.
²³⁄₀₆ Com­mon seals are giv­ing birth to their young on sand flats in the sea.
²⁴⁄₀₆ Great horse-flies are emerging.
²⁵⁄₀₆ The cuckoo gradu­ally stops call­ing its own name.
²⁶⁄₀₆ The dark green fritil­lary is on the wing with its black-orange chequered wings.
²⁷⁄₀₆ Chaffinches cease singing.
²⁸⁄₀₆ Har­bour por­poises con­cen­trate on breed­ing; their young are born elev­en months later.
²⁹⁄₀₆ Grass snakes are lay­ing their eggs in swel­ter­ing dung hills and com­post heaps.
³⁰⁄₀₆ Ele­phant hawk-moths are vis­it­ing hon­ey­suckle flowers for pollination. 

July

⁰¹⁄₀₇ Glow­worms are emerging.
⁰²⁄₀₇ The first wasps start look­ing for some­thing sweet for their young.
⁰³⁄₀₇ Rose­bay wil­lowherb is flowering.
⁰⁴⁄₀₇ Ver­vain is flowering.
⁰⁵⁄₀₇ Brown hawker dragon­fly and wil­low emer­ald dam­sel­fly are on the wing.
⁰⁶⁄₀₇ Female bats are suck­ling their young.
07/07 Most of the adult cuckoos have depar­ted to Africa.
⁰⁸⁄₀₇ Purple emper­or but­ter­flies on wing near willows.
⁰⁹⁄₀₇ Young mag­pies are fol­low­ing their par­ents, beg­ging them for food.
¹⁰⁄₀₇ Roe deer start mating.
¹¹⁄₀₇ Sil­ver-washed fritil­lary but­ter­flies appear.
¹²⁄₀₇ Sun­dews are flower­ing in sphag­num bogs.
¹³⁄₀₇ The red ber­ries of the row­ans are ripening.
¹⁴⁄₀₇ Largest num­ber of com­mon blue dam­sel­flies are on the wing.
¹⁵⁄₀₇ In sunny places the first black­ber­ries are ripe.
¹⁶⁄₀₇ Female otters are giv­ing birth.
¹⁷⁄₀₇ Cot­ton grasses and bog asphodel are flowering.
¹⁸⁄₀₇ Mead­ow brown but­ter­fly, dark green fritil­lary and large blue are on the wing.
¹⁹⁄₀₇ Song thrushes cease singing.
²⁰⁄₀₇ Rose bedeguar galls are appear­ing on wild rose species.
²¹⁄₀₇ The first chant­arelle funguses are appear­ing in beech woods.
²²⁄₀₇ Most bird­song has ended but sky­larks and yel­low­ham­mers are still singing.
²³⁄₀₇ Wasps on the wing abound.
²⁴⁄₀₇ The large cop­per can be spot­ted flying.
²⁵⁄₀₇ Clouded yel­low but­ter­flies are appear­ing on clover and alfalfa fields.
²⁶⁄₀₇ Com­mon seals begin their dis­play and mat­ing ritual.
²⁷⁄₀₇ Migrant hawker dragon­flies are on the wing.
²⁸⁄₀₇ Small skip­per but­ter­flies are on the wing.
²⁹⁄₀₇ Water drop­wort is flower­ing. Its roots are very poisonous.
³⁰⁄₀₇ Hon­ey­suckle ber­ries start ripening.
³¹⁄₀₇ Gipsy­wort or bugle­weed is in bloom in wet­land areas. 

August

⁰¹⁄₀₈ Second broods of swal­lows are fledging.
⁰²⁄₀₈ Cater­pil­lars of the eyed hawk-moth fully fed.
⁰³⁄₀₈ Small red-eyed dam­sel­fly on wing.
⁰⁴⁄₀₈ The com­mon earth­ball fungus attacked by the para­sit­ic­al Bole­tus parasiticus.
⁰⁵⁄₀₈ Ivy-leaved bell­flower in flower.
⁰⁶⁄₀₈ Fox­gloves are abundant.
⁰⁷⁄₀₈ Yel­low­ham­mers stop singing.
08/08 Young frogs have dis­persed and for­age for insects in the grass.
⁰⁹⁄₀₈ Devil’s‑bit sca­bi­ous still in flower.
¹⁰⁄₀₈ Swifts begin to leave for Africa.
¹¹⁄₀₈ Small tor­toise­shell but­ter­fly on wing.
¹²⁄₀₈ Young slow­worms hatch.
¹³⁄₀₈ Second broods of mar­tins fledged.
¹⁴⁄₀₈ Robins com­mence their autumn song.
¹⁵⁄₀₈ Moles cast out their young.
¹⁶⁄₀₈ Blue hawker dragon­fly on wing.
¹⁷⁄₀₈ Small emer­ald spread­wing on wing.
¹⁸⁄₀₈ Great woolly-headed thistle flowering.
¹⁹⁄₀₈ Lar­vae of ele­phant and priv­et hawk-moths almost fully fed. 
²⁰⁄₀₈ The fungus Aman­ita mappa appears on sandy soil under oaks and beeches.
²¹⁄₀₈ Young bats begin to catch insects for them­selves and no longer need their moth­ers’ milk.
²²⁄₀₈ Smooth snakes are giv­ing birth to live young.
²³⁄₀₈ Winged ants appear in swarms from ants’ nests.
²⁴⁄₀₈ Lap­wings flock togeth­er for their autum­nal migration.
²⁵⁄₀₈ Fly­ing alone and for the first time, young cuckoos are depart­ing for Africa.
²⁶⁄₀₈ Horn of plenty or ​“trum­pet of death” fungus is appear­ing in woods.
²⁷⁄₀₈ The adonis blue but­ter­fly is on the wing.
²⁸⁄₀₈ Cater­pil­lars of the emper­or moth are feed­ing on heather.
²⁹⁄₀₈ Adult shrews are at the end of their lives and die of exhaustion.
³⁰⁄₀₈ The first eld­er ber­ries are ripe and are eaten by wood pigeons.
³¹⁄₀₈ Pea­cock but­ter­flies can be found on the wing or resting. 

Septem­ber

⁰¹⁄₀₉ Death’s‑head hawk­moths are on the wing.
⁰²⁄₀₉ Many glisten­ing inky cap fungi can be found.
⁰³⁄₀₉ Black­ber­ries start ripening. 
⁰⁴⁄₀₉ Young nat­ter­jack toads are leav­ing the water.
⁰⁵⁄₀₉ Silk-but­ton spangle galls are appear­ing on the back of oak leaves.
⁰⁶⁄₀₉ Fanci­fully shaped knop­per galls are fall­ing from oaks.
⁰⁷⁄₀₉ The last sil­ver-spot­ted skip­pers can be spot­ted on the wing.
⁰⁸⁄₀₉ Wasp nest beetles appear from under­ground wasps’ nests.
09/09 Para­sol fungi appear in mead­ows and along road sides.
¹⁰⁄₀₉ Crane flies or daddy longlegs are abundant.
¹¹⁄₀₉ The first horse chest­nuts are ripe and fall from the trees.
¹²⁄₀₉ Shaggy ink cap fungus appears on dis­turbed and nutri­tion-rich soils.
¹³⁄₀₉ The stem­less dwarf thistle can still be found blooming.
¹⁴⁄₀₉ Lime trees begin to shed their leaves.
¹⁵⁄₀₉ Red deer stags start their mat­ing sea­son rutting.
¹⁶⁄₀₉ Com­mon king­fish­ers can be spot­ted frequently.
¹⁷⁄₀₉ The first acorns are falling.
¹⁸⁄₀₉ Brack­en assumes its autum­nal tinting.
¹⁹⁄₀₉ Male badgers are pre­par­ing their bur­rows to accom­mod­ate mul­tiple females.
²⁰⁄₀₉ The first barn swal­lows and mar­tins start their migra­tion south.
²¹⁄₀₉ Beech-nuts are now plen­ti­ful in the woods.
²²⁄₀₉ Ivy is begin­ning to bloom.
²³⁄₀₉ Mistle thrushes are feed­ing on ripe orange row­an berries.
²⁴⁄₀₉ Cad­dis fly are swarm­ing over ponds in the evening.
²⁵⁄₀₉ Turtle doves are leav­ing to spend the winter in West Africa.
²⁶⁄₀₉ Second flower­ing of honeysuckle.
²⁷⁄₀₉ False truffles can be seen in pine woods, after rab­bits have dug them up.
²⁸⁄₀₉ Dormice and squir­rels are stock­ing up their winter supplies.
²⁹⁄₀₉ Scar­let wax­cap fungi are appear­ing in fields and on lawns.
³⁰⁄₀₉ Migrat­ing sil­ver Y moths are on their way south. 

Octo­ber

⁰¹⁄₁₀ Adult eels are migrat­ing from inland waters to the sea on their way to their spawn­ing grounds in the Sar­gasso Sea.
⁰²⁄₁₀ Many trees, includ­ing beeches, are chan­ging col­our to autumn tints.
⁰³⁄₁₀ Hips, haws and sloes are now ripe.
⁰⁴⁄₁₀ Field mush­rooms in strik­ing fairy-rings are in fields and on lawns.
⁰⁵⁄₁₀ Rut­ting red deer are using their antlers in the com­pet­i­tion for hinds.
⁰⁶⁄₁₀ Fly agar­ic are emer­ging under birches and oth­er trees.
⁰⁷⁄₁₀ Starlings are start­ing to roost in huge flocks.
⁰⁸⁄₁₀ The last flights of the green-veined white but­ter­fly before it hibern­ates as a pupa.
⁰⁹⁄₁₀ Queen wasps are going into hibernation.
10/10 Black­birds are feed­ing on fallen apples.
¹¹⁄₁₀ Lady­bird beetles are going into hiberna­tion, often in homes.
¹²⁄₁₀ The trees are shed­ding their leaves but oak and ash trees are still very green.
¹³⁄₁₀ Cauli­flower fungus is appear­ing at the base of Scots pine trunks.
¹⁴⁄₁₀ Chaffinches and less­er red­polls are some­times singing on fine mornings.
¹⁵⁄₁₀ Wrens are begin­ning their autumn singing.
¹⁶⁄₁₀ The last mar­tins and barn swal­lows are leav­ing to spend the winter in Africa.
¹⁷⁄₁₀ Dog­wood leaves are turn­ing a beau­ti­ful red.
¹⁸⁄₁₀ At dusk black­birds are mak­ing their short high pitch alarm calls.
¹⁹⁄₁₀ Some young wood pigeons are leav­ing the nest only now.
²⁰⁄₁₀ Amphi­bi­ans start with­draw­ing into their hiberna­tion shelters.
²¹⁄₁₀ The vomit­ing rus­sula or the sicken­er fungus is appear­ing on damp, acid soils.
²²⁄₁₀ The north­ern red oak takes on a strik­ing red.
²³⁄₁₀ The first field­fares are arriv­ing from the high north.
²⁴⁄₁₀ Brent geese are return­ing from their north­ern breed­ing grounds with their young.
²⁵⁄₁₀ Slow­worms are going into hiberna­tion, hid­den in humus and rough grasses.
²⁶⁄₁₀ The first wood­cocks are arriv­ing from Fin­land and Rus­sia to spend the winter here.
²⁷⁄₁₀ Comma but­ter­flies have stopped fly­ing for this year.
²⁸⁄₁₀ The birch leaves have taken on their autum­nal colours.
²⁹⁄₁₀ Pea­cock but­ter­flies stop fly­ing as autumn progresses.
³⁰⁄₁₀ Dormice are going into hiberna­tion until April.
³¹⁄₁₀ Vir­tu­ally all but­ter­flies have stopped fly­ing because of the cold. 

Novem­ber

⁰¹⁄₁₁ Mistle thrushes begin singing again from treetops.
⁰²⁄₁₁ The brown long-eared bat starts to hibern­ate in trees, hol­low walls, caves and mines.
⁰³⁄₁₁ The grass stops growing.
⁰⁴⁄₁₁ Money spiders in vast num­bers on fields cov­er the grass with threads of silk.
⁰⁵⁄₁₁ Autum­nal leaf tint­ing is usu­ally at its best about this time.
⁰⁶⁄₁₁ Mer­maids purses hold­ing shark’s or skate’s eggs, wash up on beaches.
⁰⁷⁄₁₁ Serot­ine bats are spend­ing the winter in cav­ity walls, under roof tiles and in dis­used chimneys.
⁰⁸⁄₁₁ Sal­mon start to ascend rivers from the sea to spawn upstream.
⁰⁹⁄₁₁ The last red admir­al but­ter­flies are still on wing.
¹⁰⁄₁₁ Thou­sands of wild geese are back from their sum­mer breed­ing grounds in the Arctic.
11/11 Adult shrews die of exhaus­tion, the young are left to sur­vive the winter.
¹²⁄₁₁ Frogs hibern­ate in the unfrozen muddy lay­er on the bot­tom of ponds and pools.
¹³⁄₁₁ Candles­nuff fungus is abund­ant on old stumps.
¹⁴⁄₁₁ The col­our­ful but­ter wax­cap appears in meadows.
¹⁵⁄₁₁ The spit­ting spider Scytodes thoraci­ca goes hunt­ing by night.
¹⁶⁄₁₁ Adders and grass snakes go into hibernation.
¹⁷⁄₁₁ Hedge­hogs go into hiberna­tion until April.
¹⁸⁄₁₁ Lap­wings are feed­ing in flocks on fields.
¹⁹⁄₁₁ Brown witch’s but­ter fungus or jelly leaf is grow­ing on dead birch and oak branches.
²⁰⁄₁₁ Occa­sion­al appear­ance of brim­stone butterflies.
²¹⁄₁₁ Squir­rels retire to their winter retreats.
²²⁄₁₁ Most moths start to hibern­ate as a pupa among fallen leaves or oth­er hid­den spots.
²³⁄₁₁ Long-eared owls form com­mun­al roosts.
²⁴⁄₁₁ Green­finches assemble in flocks for their col­lect­ive wintering.
²⁵⁄₁₁ Com­mon brack­et fungus is abund­ant on dead wood.
²⁶⁄₁₁ The ped­uncu­late or Eng­lish oaks are now com­pletely bare.
²⁷⁄₁₁ The nettle cells of sting­ing-nettles are los­ing strength.
²⁸⁄₁₁ The Fluted bird’s nest fungus ejects its spores.
²⁸⁄₁₁ Young mag­pies without a ter­rit­ory are roost­ing in small flocks.
³⁰⁄₁₁ Pip­istrelle bats are going into hibernation. 

Decem­ber

⁰¹⁄₁₂ Today the met­eor­o­lo­gic­al winter begins.
⁰²⁄₁₂ The com­mon shrew is now under­ground and hunt­ing for invertebrates.
⁰³⁄₁₂ Male foxes are call­ing in the night to find a female to mate with.
⁰⁴⁄₁₂ Nathusi­us’ pip­istrelle bats may fly on mild winter days.
⁰⁵⁄₁₂ Red-stemmed feath­er moss abund­ant on sandy soil.
⁰⁶⁄₁₂ The rough-mantled dor­is sea slug is look­ing for barnacles to feed on dur­ing its breed­ing time.
⁰⁷⁄₁₂ Yel­low­ham­mers are con­greg­at­ing in winter flocks at nutri­tion-rich places.
⁰⁸⁄₁₂ At night lumin­ous centi­pedes can be spotted.
⁰⁹⁄₁₂ The first young of grey seals are being born.
¹⁰⁄₁₂ Black­birds clear circles of dead leaves to get at insects and worms in the ground.
¹¹⁄₁₂ The song thrush sings at dawn in mild weather.
12/12 Tit­mice extract lar­vae from oak marble galls and eat them.
¹³⁄₁₂ Ground­sel can be seen in flower, in sheltered places all year long.
¹⁴⁄₁₂ Stoats have their white coat for winter.
¹⁵⁄₁₂ The mat­ing sea­son of squir­rels has begun.
¹⁶⁄₁₂ The high, sharp call of the great spot­ted wood­peck­er can be heard high up in the trees.
¹⁷⁄₁₂ Shepherd’s purse is occa­sion­ally still flowering.
¹⁸⁄₁₂ Many insects winter in the hol­low stems of dead plants.
¹⁹⁄₁₂ The first scar­let elf cup fungi appear.
²⁰⁄₁₂ Long-tailed tit flocks are look­ing for food all day to survive.
²¹⁄₁₂ Com­mon chick­weed is occa­sion­ally still flowering.
²²⁄₁₂ Com­pass jelly­fish come near to the shore.
²³⁄₁₂ Slow­worms can be spot­ted in sunny weather.
²⁴⁄₁₂ Early nuthatches com­mence their spring whistle.
²⁵⁄₁₂ Stag beetles can be spot­ted on a clear evening.
²⁶⁄₁₂ Yel­low witch’s — but­ter fungus can be seen on the stems of dead oak and oth­er trees.
²⁷⁄₁₂ Yel­low gorse is flower­ing profusely.
²⁸⁄₁₂ Moles throw up hil­locks when the ground is not frozen hard.
²⁹⁄₁₂ Robins are singing.
³⁰⁄₁₂ Wild boars churn up the fallen leaves look­ing for acorns.
³¹⁄₁₂ Earth­worms tug/​pull dead leaves into their holes and eat them. 

Janu­ary

01/01 Badgers are asleep deep underground.
⁰²⁄₀₁ Dun­nocks com­mence their birdsong.
⁰³⁄₀₁ The black-spot­ted chest­nut moth can be spot­ted fly­ing in the night.
⁰⁴⁄₀₁ Marsh tits begins to sing.
⁰⁵⁄₀₁ Beavers are sat­is­fy­ing their appet­ite with wil­low bark.
⁰⁶⁄₀₁ Rab­bits gnaw the bark of holly and oth­er scrubs if the weath­er is severe.
⁰⁷⁄₀₁ Stock doves can be heard calling.
⁰⁸⁄₀₁ Smooth newts begin breed­ing if the weath­er is warm enough.
⁰⁹⁄₀₁ Rab­bits start devot­ing them­selves to breeding.
¹⁰⁄₀₁ Less­er spot­ted wood­peck­er some­times drums.
¹¹⁄₀₁ Red dead-nettle already flower­ing here and there.
¹²⁄₀₁ The pale brindled beauty moth flies from now till late April.
¹³⁄₀₁ Swan’s‑neck thread moss is form­ing its repro­duct­ive organs.
¹⁴⁄₀₁ Com­mon winter dam­sel­flies on wing on warm days.
¹⁵⁄₀₁ First yel­low daf­fodils are flowering.
¹⁶⁄₀₁ The first buntings start singing.
¹⁷⁄₀₁ Dark green cush­ions of broom fork-moss are grow­ing on sandy banks and tree trunks.
¹⁸⁄₀₁ The loudest sing­ers now are the great tits.
¹⁹⁄₀₁ Brown hair­streak but­ter­flies are lay­ing eggs in black­thorn bushes.
²⁰⁄₀₁ Beavers are start­ing their mat­ing season.
²¹⁄₀₁ Wood larks are singing.
²²⁄₀₁ Black witch’s but­ter fungus (Exidia glandu­losa) is grow­ing on dead branches.
²³⁄₀₁ Dumble­dore beetle appears.
²⁴⁄₀₁ First snow­drop leaves are emer­ging from the snow. 
²⁵⁄₀₁ Early sky­larks start singing.
²⁶⁄₀₁ Nathusi­us’ pip­istrelle bats may be spot­ted fly­ing if it is not too cold.
²⁷⁄₀₁ Hare mat­ing sea­son begins and con­tin­ues well into summer.
²⁸⁄₀₁ The first robins start build­ing their nests.
²⁹⁄₀₁ Winter gnats abound.
³⁰⁄₀₁ The first snow­drops begin to flower.
³¹⁄₀₁ Earth­worms lie out. 

Feb­ru­ary

⁰¹⁄₀₂ Small tor­toise­shell but­ter­flies start to emerge from hibernation.
02/02 Green­finches sep­ar­ate from flocks to con­tin­ue on their own.
⁰³⁄₀₂ Moles pre­pare their under­ground nests for their young.
⁰⁴⁄₀₂ Tree creep­ers com­mence their spring call.
⁰⁵⁄₀₂ Tawny owls hoot at dusk.
⁰⁶⁄₀₂ Haw­finches feed on holly berries.
⁰⁷⁄₀₂ Black­birds sing at dusk.
⁰⁸⁄₀₂ Winter jas­mine is flower­ing profusely.
⁰⁹⁄₀₂ Collared doves are coo­ing loudly in the morning.
¹⁰⁄₀₂ First crop of glisten­ing ink cap fungus appears on dead broad-leaved trees.
¹¹⁄₀₂ Great­er spot­ted wood­peck­ers drum to mark their territory.
¹²⁄₀₂ Male moles in search for a part­ner dig long tun­nels throw­ing up many hillocks.
¹³⁄₀₂ Badgers are giv­ing birth to young.
¹⁴⁄₀₂ Wood­cocks are mak­ing their flight dis­plays ​‘rod­ing’, to mark their breed­ing territory.
¹⁵⁄₀₂ Yel­low­ham­mer starts to sing its char­ac­ter­ist­ic­ally shrill notes.
¹⁶⁄₀₂ Barn owls are mating.
¹⁷⁄₀₂ Pea­cock and brim­stone but­ter­flies emerge from hibernation.
¹⁸⁄₀₂ First prim­roses appearing.
¹⁹⁄₀₂ The great cres­ted grebe’s mir­ror court­ship dance begins.
²⁰⁄₀₂ Sal­mon start to des­cend rivers on their migra­tion to the sea.
²¹⁄₀₂ Frogs are busy mat­ing and pro­du­cing frogspawn.
²²⁄₀₂ Chaffinches com­mence singing. 
²³⁄₀₂ Less­er peri­winkle bloom­ing with brightly blue flowers.
²⁴⁄₀₂ Gold­crests begin their almost inaud­ibly high chirping.
²⁵⁄₀₂ Adders emerge from hibernation.
²⁶⁄₀₂ Brent geese start to leave for the Arc­tic islands.
²⁷⁄₀₂ Early-nest­ing her­ons already have eggs.
²⁸⁄₀₂ Slow­worms revive from torpidity. 

March

⁰¹⁄₀₃ Most tawny owls have laid their eggs.
⁰²⁄₀₃ Wood anemones in flower in woodland.
03/03 The first queen wasps emerge from hibernation.
⁰⁴⁄₀₃ Wil­lows and marsh-marigolds in flower.
⁰⁵⁄₀₃ Cur­lews begin their dis­play flights, rising steeply then glid­ing down while singing.
⁰⁶⁄₀₃ Mistle thrushes are nesting.
⁰⁷⁄₀₃ Black­thorn in flower.
⁰⁸⁄₀₃ Early swans may start build­ing their nest.
⁰⁹⁄₀₃ First less­er celandine flowers appearing.
¹⁰⁄₀₃ Male hares start to fight, stand­ing on hind legs and boxing.
¹¹⁄₀₃ The first gen­er­a­tion of brim­stone but­ter­flies start their flight period.
¹²⁄₀₃ Male yews begin shed­ding abund­ant amounts pollen.
¹³⁄₀₃ The large white but­ter­flies are on the wing.
¹⁴⁄₀₃ Spar­row­hawks can be seen soar­ing over their ter­rit­or­ies only at this time of year.
¹⁵⁄₀₃ Com­mon frogs start to emerge.
¹⁶⁄₀₃ Black ants remove the seal from the entrance to the nest and begin to for­age above ground.
¹⁷⁄₀₃ The first speckled wood but­ter­flies can be spot­ted flying.
¹⁸⁄₀₃ Com­mon frogs start croak­ing to attract the atten­tion of females.
¹⁹⁄₀₃ Wrens are singing high­er in the trees, their voices car­ry­ing further.
²⁰⁄₀₃ The first young European pine martens are born.
²¹⁄₀₃ The first newts return to the water.
²²⁄₀₃ Rose­mary has star­ted flowering.
²³⁄₀₃ First horse chest­nut leaves are unfolding.
²⁴⁄₀₃ Toads are mat­ing and lay­ing eggs.
²⁵⁄₀₃ King­fish­ers are look­ing for nest­ing holes.
²⁶⁄₀₃ First hazel leaves are appearing.
²⁸⁄₀₃ Magno­lia flower­ing before the first leaves appear.
²⁹⁄₀₃ Wheatears have arrived, one of the first long-dis­tance migrant birds to return.
³⁰⁄₀₃ Long-eared owls are nesting.
³¹⁄₀₃ Crows, jack­daws, mag­pies and rooks are build­ing or repair­ing their nests. 

April

⁰¹⁄₀₄ Mat­ing sea­son has star­ted for adders; the males com­pete in a dance/​fight to impress females.
⁰²⁄₀₄ The first Chiffchaffs have returned and begin to sing their name.
⁰³⁄₀₄ The first young of the wild boar are born.
04/04 First wil­low warbler song can be heard.
⁰⁵⁄₀₄ Tad­poles abound in ponds and pools.
⁰⁶⁄₀₄ Spar­row­hawks and kestrels nesting.
⁰⁷⁄₀₄ The first night­in­gale returns.
⁰⁸⁄₀₄ Most buz­zards have laid their first egg.
⁰⁹⁄₀₄ The dis­tinct­ive orange-tip but­ter­flies are flying.
¹⁰⁄₀₄ Grass snakes are mating.
¹¹⁄₀₄ Cuckoo males begin to arrive from Sub-Saha­ran Africa and start call­ing their name.
¹²⁄₀₄ Beavers are hav­ing their first young.
¹³⁄₀₄ Ash trees are flowering.
¹⁴⁄₀₄ Yel­low wag­tails have arrived from their winter retreats.
¹⁵⁄₀₄ Hedge­hogs are emer­ging from hibernation.
¹⁶⁄₀₄ Small tor­toise­shell but­ter­fly and comma but­ter­fly are at the peak of their flight period.
¹⁷⁄₀₄ Young mal­lards are hatch­ing and can be seen swimming.
¹⁸⁄₀₄ Crab apples flowering.
¹⁹⁄₀₄ Grey squir­rels pre­pare their dreys (tree nests).
²⁰⁄₀₄ Yel­low archangel in flower.
²¹⁄₀₄ Sand­pipers, European pied flycatch­ers, grasshop­per warblers and many oth­er birds have returned to the country.
²²⁄₀₄ Ped­uncu­late or Eng­lish oak leaves unfolding.
²³⁄₀₄ Hawthorn starts flowering.
²⁴⁄₀₄ The wood warbler has arrived to spend the summer.
²⁵⁄₀₄ Great and blue tits are now sit­ting on eggs.
²⁶⁄₀₄ Rare migrat­ing turtle doves that have sur­vived being hunted while cross­ing Malta arrive in UK.
²⁷⁄₀₄ First flowers of the horse chest­nut tree appearing.
²⁸⁄₀₄ The reed warbler is in the country.
²⁹⁄₀₄ The first swift has arrived and will stay for one hun­dred days.
³⁰⁄₀₄ The male wren is busy mak­ing sev­er­al nests, the female chooses one of them.