Nature Watch: the study of seasonality in Nature

One of the main objectives of this Nature Watch diary is to give you the opportunity to record what is happening in the natural environment, day by day, throughout the year.

Most people who participate in systematic recording of their daily natural history observations soon become fascinated by the regular and predictable sequence of happenings in nature. On comparing notes made with those of previous years, the outstanding impression is how much nature is on ‘time’.

Experienced nature watchers can get to the stage where they can predict to the very week of the year when a certain plant will commence flowering, or when a certain migratory bird is sure to be seen or heard. Yet there is always something new to discover!

Once you ‘get hooked’ on keeping a diary of natural events you realise what an enjoyable and rewarding activity it is. You can ‘nature watch’ anywhere, wherever you live, whether in a rural area, suburbia, whether just watching in the confines of your own backyard, exploring a National Park or walking along a beach.

Your Observations may include:

• What plants are currently in flower (or in bud, or in fruit)
• What birds are seen that day, that week
• Examples of animal behaviour, feeding, breeding
• Patterns of migration
• Weather phenomena
• Insect life cycles, behaviour, population explosions
• Wetlands phenomena, eg periods of inundation
• Seaboard phenomena, eg spring tides
• Interconnections, linkages, relationships
• Appearance of fungal fruiting bodies and so on……. .

The Central Coast Nature Watch Diary will give Nature Watchers within the community an opportunity to rediscover the seasonal changes and co-happenings in nature which the Aboriginal people observed and understood so well in the thousands of years prior to European impact. They will also contribute to a regionally significant account of the biodiversity within the Central Coast region.

This Nature Watch Diary is a small part in a much larger network of Nature Watchers representing observations from 80 bioregions throughout Australia. This larger network is co-ordinated by Alan Reid, President of the Gould League of Victoria in the Timelines Project Australia.

Download your initial diary sheets, print them out and fill them in, before sending them to the Central Coast Community Environment Network CCCEN at naturewatch@cccen.org.au, or by fax to (02) 4349 4755 or by post to PO Box 149 Ourimbah 2258.

Nature Watch Diary (Maps and information)

Diary Sheets and Likely Sightings (PDF File - 171 KB)

Nature unfolds with the seasons

Seasonal patterns reflect the annual orbiting of the earth around the sun. Thus flowering plants undergo a regular sequence of bud formation, flowering, formation of fruit, and setting and dispersal of seeds.

With animals, there is also a pattern in their appearances or activities during the year, as seen in their reproductive behaviour, and in seasonal migrations. Studying collected data will reveal patterns, leading to predictable trends such as ‘wet seasons’, mating times, and major migration times.

Research by Alan Reid suggests that Aborigines have understood the workings of the land and its shifting climates intimately for many thousands of years.

Aboriginal tribes have observed nature and followed its calendars or timelines by monitoring significant events, such as the migration and mating patterns of birds, changes in local vegetation, the effects of major weather changes and natural disasters such as fires and floods. They use calendars with from five to seven seasons depending on location, suggesting the European concept of four equal seasons has little relevance in Australia.

Recording your observations

Here are some useful hints on how to use this diary:

• Encourage your whole family, class or workmates to get involved, anyone can record interesting and useful observations;
• Set aside time once a week to observe and record nature in your backyard or local park. Try to make the observations at different times of day;
• Always note the time of day, date, month and year for each observation;
• Keep weather records, these can be taken from the local TV news, or newspaper, or include comments such as ‘cold, raining’ or ‘strong westerly wind’;
• On your first expedition simply get familiar with the area you are watching;
• Subsequently, look out for changes;
• Remember to note the regular occurrences as well as the unusual;
• Be systematic and organised, don’t use scraps of paper or if you do transfer the information to your diary as soon as possible;
• Remember to summarise your observations each month. For example how many rainy days, total rainfall for the month, number of bird species seen, etc;
• Use some of the recommended field guides listed in the reference list to help with species identification, you will be amazed at how quickly you remember the names;
• Take photographs to keep in your diary, as well as relevant newspaper clippings;
• Use the notes section for more detailed accounts of your observations, you can also make sketches of anything that is unusual or fascinating;
• Keep your observations for comparisons in future years, you will soon start to see regular patterns emerge. (refer to the timeline spreadsheet concept)

Acknowledgements: Kevin McDonald, Alan Reid, Gould League Victoria, Louise Duff, Alan Morris.

Contacts

Central Coast Average Monthly Rainfall Records

Source: Bureau of Meteorology 2002

Assessibility
At present, some of the documents on this page are provided in Portable Document Format (PDF) format only.You need to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to read (PDF) documents. If you encounter difficulties accessing PDF documents, please inform Wyong Shire Council by telephone on (02) 4350 5555, by mail at PO Box 20 Wyong 2259, or by e-mail.

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Page last updated: 06/06/2007