Farmers’ Wildlife Calendar 2022

The Farmers’ Wildlife Calendar is an annual recording initiative by the National Biodiversity Data Centre that is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The aim of the Farmers’ Wildlife Calendar is to track the effects of weather and climate change on seasonal events such as frogs spawning and the arrival our common migrants.

The Farmers’ Wildlife Calendar welcomes records from both agricultural and non-agricultural areas

The first sighting of frog spawn is one of the seasonal events recorded in the Farmers' Wildlife Calendar.

The effect of climate change on phenology

Phenology is the timing of annual cycles of plants and animals e.g. when a plant flowers, goes to seed and insects emerge from hibernation. Our climate is changing due to the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and intensification of agriculture. Our biodiversity is responding to this environmental change by changes in phenology. However, however the rate of change is still not clearly understood.

We are looking for records for the first occurrence of nine seasonal events. This information can help us answer questions like:

  • What effect has recent weather had on wildlife?
  • How is climate change affecting timings in nature?

Having annual records of seasonal events allows us to infer if spring temperatures were warmer or colder than previous years and estimate how our biodiversity is responding to our changing climate. The sensitivity of our biodiversity to environmental change makes phenology a useful indicator of climate change.

"The global mean surface air temperature has increased by on average 0.85°C over the last century, but the rate of warming has nearly doubled since 1975 to almost 1.65°C per century." - Climate Status Report for Ireland 2020.

Climate change projections in Ireland

In Ireland as a result of climate change, we are experiencing changes in;

  • Temperatures have increased by 0.7oC  in the last 118 years. Majority of that change, 0.4oC has occurred in the last 28 years.
  • Precipitation with substantial increases  in autumn and winter
  • Sea levels have been rising at an average of 3 mm per year from 1980-2010. This rate of sea level rise is projected to be maintained or increase  further.

Results from 2022

Overall, the seasonal events were recorded sooner in 2020 than in 2021. Six of the eight events (excluding Marsh Marigold as it was a newly added seasonal event for 2021) being recorded earlier in 2020 than in comparison to 2021.

In 2020, we had a good spring weather wise in comparison resulting seasonal events being first recorded earlier than in 2021 when we had a markedly poorer spring.

Seasonal event First record in 2020 – location First record in 2021 – location
Barn Swallow 1 March – Enniskerry, Wicklow 4 March – Liscullane, Kerry
Blackthorn flowering 14 February – Goleen, Cork 17 February – Corbally, Limerick
Common Cuckoo 16 March – Ardskeagh, Cork 14 April – Ballymachola, Mayo
Frog spawn 26 January – Ballybower, South Kerry 28 January – Gurtavalla, Limerick
Grey Mining Bee 22 March – Enfield, Kildare 25 February – Rathnure, Wexford
Large Red Damselfly 25 April – Crossmolina, Mayo 6 May – Keelcuil, Mayo
Marsh-marigold flowering No record 26 February – Bramblestown, Kilkenny
Orange-tip 16 March – Ardskeagh, Cork 2 April – Spahill, Carlow
Primrose flowering 23 January – Kilfenora, Clare 2 January – Bramblestown, Kilkenny
Swallow
The Barn Swallow is a migrant that winters in southern Africa. Bird migration is triggered by a combination of changes in day length, temperature, food supply and genetic makeup of species.

Updates for 2022 survey period

This year, the National Biodiversity Data Centre will provide recorders with a follow up email related to the seasonal event to they have recorded and how each event may be affected by climate change.

Seasonal events that have that interact or have some form of dependence on each other will be in sync with each other as a result of millions of years of evolution e.g. plants flowering and emergence of our pollinators. However, with our climate rapidly changing, these events may move out of sync putting our biodiversity at risk.

Submit records of all the seasonal events in the Farmers’ Wildlife Calendar to learn how the flowering of plants, emergence of our bees, butterflies and dragonflies and the arrival our migrants are being affected by climate change.

 

Thanks to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

2021 was a successful year for the Farmers’ Wildlife Calendar which saw an increase in the number of records submitted through the recording initiative.

The National Biodiversity Data Centre would like to thank Niall Ryan from Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Minister Pippa Hackett for their support.

  • Contact Us
  • +353 51 306 240
  • National Biodiversity Data Centre
    Beechfield House,
    Waterford Institute of Technology West Campus,
    Carriganore,
    Co. Waterford,
    Ireland.
    X91 PE03

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The National Biodiversity Data Centre is a programme of the Heritage Council and is operated under a service level agreement by Compass Informatics. The National Biodiversity Data Centre is funded by the Heritage Council and Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

 

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