March 2026

There is now a clear picture of where we are in seasonal progression, from the shortest, darkest days of December to the equinox of the 21st of March, by which time you may have read these notes. Buds of many trees are swelling. As I write on 9.2.26, the countryside is festooned with yellow male hazel (Corylus avellana) catkins, starting in early January. Look carefully at the hazel twigs and search for the tiny bright red female flowers, waiting to receive windborne pollen from another hazel tree that maybe many miles away. Hazels are monoecious, meaning each plant has both male and female flowers. The breeding season of hazels is long, spanning from the end of December (nowadays) to March. The emergence of male catkins usually predates opening the female flower so the tree can avoid self-fertilisation and benefit from outbreeding vigour, i.e. mixing of genes from unrelated individuals. This helps to avoid inbreeding depression, which is fertilizing itself or a close relative. The latter is always going to be a bad idea if good health for offspring is to be preferred. I have mentioned this before in relation to oaks (also monoecious), which can avoid inbreeding by rejecting pollen from local trees in favour of pollen from distant ones. The object being to produce healthy offspring (outbreeding vigour). All chromosomes are in pairs to ensure that the paring of male and female gametes is with characters that are different so that the number of important traits such as disease resistance and other health-giving characters are maximised by the mix. Most global organisms will be doing this in one way or another. Many animals achieve this by young males and females dispersing different distances on becoming independent from their parents. That way they are less likely to pair up with a relative.

Right now, birds are also preparing for reproduction. Wood pigeons (Columba palumbus), dunnocks (Prunella modularis), bluetits (Cyanistes caeruleus), great tits (Parus major), goldcrests (Regulus regulus), house sparrows (Passer domesticus), blackbirds (Turdus merula), song thrushes (T. philomelos), tawny owls (Strix aluco) and many more are actively courting and checking out nesting sites. Daffodils (Narcissus sp.) are emerging early and some primulas are also in flower. Daisies (Bellis perennis) also. The occasional bumble bee (Bombus sp.) is emerging from hibernation and other insects such as gnats (Nematocera) are also flying on the warmest days when the temperature rises above 8 degrees Celsius. Earthworms (e.g. Lumbricus spp.) are also working on homogenising the soil, and there is an air of expectant excitement. The first common frogs (Rana temporaria) are croaking, mainly at night, in the garden pond in preparation for spawning. A regular February routine. Most badgers (Meles meles) give birth during February. The young emerge from the sett with the warming of spring. Look out also for spring flowers such as violets (Viola spp.), ladies’ smock (Cardamine pratensis) and stitchwort (Rabelera holostea).