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Record spring's vital signs

Help us check the health of nature by taking part and logging your spring sightings. 

Add your record
Credit: Julie Howden / WTML
Credit: WTML

The climate crisis is having a profound impact on nature. It's urgent that we understand how wildlife is coping with shifting seasons, warmer temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns.  

Climate change has already accelerated spring's arrival by an average of 8.4 days compared to the early 1900s. Now, we need you to help us find out whether the signs of spring are changing too. 

Let us know whether you've spotted any of spring's three vital signs – frogspawn, a singing song thrush or flowering blackthorn. Your records are crucial in helping us understand current threats and how climate change is affecting the health of nature. 

So don't wait – scroll down to submit your records before 31 March 2025 and play your part in nature's recovery. 

How to take part

  1. Choose one or more of spring's vital signs to record from the list below. 
  2. Pick a location of where you’d like to record (eg. your garden). 
  3. Submit your record using the form below when you have seen or heard your chosen sign of spring. If you prefer, you can download our form to make notes before submitting. 

We only have until 31 March 2025 to collect as many records as possible. Please submit any recording of spring's vital signs before the deadline to ensure your data is included.

Frogspawn - first seen

When to spot: January to April

Look for frog mating activity in ponds, ditches or slow-moving streams. The small black eggs are encased in a clear jelly and laid in clusters.

Record the first clumps of frogspawn you see.

Find out more about frogspawn
Frogspawn

Song thrush - first heard

When to listen: from early January

Slightly smaller than a blackbird with a dark-spotted underside and pale brown wings and back. The song thrush was once a common sight in UK woodland but is sadly in decline. Its song is varied, so listen out for short, repeated phrases.

Record the first time you hear a song thrush.

Find out more about the song thrush
Song thrush

Audio: Andrew McCafferty / xeno-canto.org

Blackthorn - first flowering

When to spot: mid-January to mid-April

Early to flower in spring, blackthorn trees have clouds of snow-white, almond-scented blossom which grows more fragrant on sunny days.

Record blackthorn's first flowering when the petals of the first flower are open sufficiently for you to see inside the flower.

Find out more about blackthorn
blackthorn flower

Too early

Blackthorn flowering

Just right

Blackthorn flower

Too late

Add your record

All fields are mandatory unless indicated as optional.

If you are recording on behalf of a school, please use this form. 

If you have more than one vital sign to record, you can submit multiple records.
Your details
If you know the postcode of where the event was recorded, let us know!
Please enter the date you saw/heard your selected event.
Date of your record

The Woodland Trust takes your privacy and how we collect, manage and use your personal data very seriously. Please read our privacy policy for further information on how and why we process data.

You can amend your contact preferences at any time by visiting our Preference Portal.

If you prefer, you can call us on 0330 333 3300 Monday-Friday, between the hours of 8.30am-5pm.

Why we must protect woods and trees

For climate change

Trees are one of our best defences in the fight against climate change. They lock up carbon, cool cities, protect against flooding, clean air and provide essential habitats for wildlife. 

For biodiverse habitats

Wildlife like birds, fungi and butterflies depend on woods and trees to feed, breed and thrive. Critically, 53% of our woodland wildlife species are in decline. We need woods and trees for these species to survive. 

For human health 

Woods and trees make people healthier and happier. Natural chemicals released by trees strengthen our immune, hormonal, circulatory and nervous systems when inhaled. Research shows that spending time in nature has been linked to a multitude of wellbeing benefits such as reduced stress, improved cognition, and milder symptoms of anxiety and depression. 

Explore the benefits of being in nature