Over the past 20 years, Nature’s Calendar has built an impressive database of phenological records. This has provided a fascinating insight into changes in a wide variety of events, from the first-spawning of Common Frogs in spring, to the tinting of Beech leaves in autumn. Of particular interest are records kept consistently over long time-scales, from the same location and by the same recorder. Here, Tim Sparks, Charlotte Armitage, and Kate Lewthwaite give mention to some of those people who have made particularly notable contributions to phenological recording in the UK.
Phenology, the study of the timing of natural events, depends entirely on the voluntary contributions of a very large number of recorders. Particularly valuable are those recording over long periods (20 or more years) or recording many events, but even single records are important when considered alongside those of this recording community.