Nature on our Doorsteps: Signs of spring

The traditional date for the start of spring in Ireland is February 1.

The ancient Celts celebrated this day as the feast of Imbolc.

After the dark months of winter, Imbolc was seen as a time of new growth, when plants began to send out new shoots and when animals would begin to give birth.

It is also the feast of St Brigid, who is associated with the gifts of wisdom, poetry, and with fertility and new life, especially of the domesticated animals that communities depended upon.

February 1, comes halfway between the winter solstice in December (which has the shortest daylight hours in the year), and the spring equinox around 20th March (which has equal hours of daylight and darkness).

This halfway point was judged by our ancestors to be the time when the winter season changed into spring.

Signs of spring are beginning to be seen all around us at the moment.

Hazel’s yellow catkins are one of the first native tree flowers to appear in spring

The lengthening of the days since the winter solstice in December has triggered some birds to begin to call out their springtime songs at dawn.

While robins tend to sing quietly all through winter, by February the male’s song becomes louder as he grows more confident and determined.

Blackbirds and thrushes are also beginning to sing, as they start to mark their territories and advertise their availability as a mate.

In the plant world, the dangling, bright yellow ‘lamb’s tails’ of the Hazel catkins are noticeable in hedgerows and parks, bringing colour to the bush’s bare, leafless, branches.

Hazel’s flowering will be followed shortly by the catkins of other trees such as Alder and Birch, and the soft furry catkins of Willow in March.