Snowdrops Blossom, Frogs Spawn, Wasps Throng - Late October In England

FROG SPAWN

Phenologists are confidently predicting the appearance of frog spawn in the South West "within days". It has become one of the most common indicators of the encroaching mildness of British winters and the early onset of spring. Last year the first sightings were in the first week of November; this year it is expected to be earlier still. But early activity poses a major problem for spawning species, particularly frogs that only have one breeding cycle per year. This year the Meteorological Office says there is a two-thirds chance that the winter of 2005/6 will be among the coldest third on record. This could kill off large amounts of spawn.

WASPS AND BUMBLEBEES

It was a poor spring and summer for Britain's six varieties of bumblebee and two common wasps, said Matt Shardlow from the invertebrate conservation charity Buglife. Cool and damp conditions meant they were thin on the ground in some areas, but the warm and wet October means many of the queens are active. "Last winter a lot of hibernating invertebrates were attacked by mould but this year these insects could do well." Evidence from the south of England, with its recent mild winters and where pollen and nectar are readily available, has shown some types of bumblebee going through two colony cycles a year.

BARNACLE GOOSE

Arctic-nesting barnacle geese have such a short gap between the end of their nesting season and the onset of winter that it is possible to predict their autumn migration period to within a few days. The first few hundred of the population breeding on Svalbard can be expected in their winter territory at Solway Firth by the end of the third week of September. Over the next few weeks the number of birds should rise to more than 15,000.This autumn, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust says only 6,000 have been counted. One explanation is that Norway's weather is becoming milder so the geese are under no pressure to move. Another is that the break-up of the pack ice means polar bears are turning to land prey like the geese rather than eating seals.

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SNOWDROPS

Shirley Clemo made national newspaper headlines yesterday after discovering snowdrops in her 30-acre gardens near St Austell, Cornwall. "I've never seen them come out so early," she said. Tony Dickerson of the Royal Horticultural Society said there could be two explanations. The first was that the flowers are examples of Galanthus reginae-olgae, autumn flowering snowdrops from northern Turkey. Or it could be that they are the native Galanthus nivalis that have been physiologically tricked by a sudden dip in the temperature after an extended period of warm weather. "Some plants occasionally get confused and they will start flowering assuming they have gone through the winter," Mr Dickerson said.

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http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article322026.ece

and their roots are connected in clusters.

nt