February Nature Journalling: The First Whispers of Spring
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If January is about learning to look at a sleeping world, then February is about learning to listen. Because the world is starting to wake up. Very quietly, and not all at once, but it’s happening. And if you’ve been keeping a nature journal since January, you’re already in a much better position to notice it.
I’ve been thinking a lot this month about Edith Holden. If you haven’t come across her before, she was a nature illustrator and teacher living in the English Midlands in the early 1900s. She kept a detailed illustrated nature diary throughout 1906, recording every plant, bird, and change in the weather she observed across the year. That diary was eventually published in 1977 as The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, and it became a surprise bestseller.
I find it genuinely moving to read. Not just because of the beautiful watercolours, but also because of what they represent. A woman taking the time, every single day, to stop and notice. To write down the date the first celandines appeared and to sketch a robin in the hedge. To care about these small things enough to record them.
That’s exactly what a nature journal is. And February is a brilliant month to feel why it matters.
What February Actually Feels Like
February gets a bad press. In a lot of the world, it’s still cold, still grey, still fairly miserable. In the UK, it can feel like the longest month despite technically being the shortest. Much of the northern US and Canada is still in deep winter.
But there’s something shifting. The light is changing. You can feel it more than you can see it at first. The days are noticeably longer than they were in December. The sun, when it appears, sits a little higher in the sky.
This is exactly the kind of thing a nature journal helps you track. Because honestly, without a record, these shifts blur together. You think “oh it seems lighter” but you can’t be sure. When you start noting the time of sunrise and sunset each week, or writing about the quality of the afternoon light, you start to feel the turning of the year in a much more tangible way.
TimeandDate.com lets you look up sunrise and sunset times for any location in the world. It’s worth bookmarking if you’re journaling through the seasons.
The Edwardian Lady and What She Can Teach Us
Edith Holden’s diary is worth looking at even if you have no interest in painting. You can find out more about her and her work at the Elmbridge Museum, which holds some of her original materials.
What strikes me about her approach is how methodical it was. She noted dates, locations, and weather. She wasn’t just doodling; she was building a record of a place across a year. And because of that, her diary is now a genuine historical document. Scientists have actually used records like hers to study how climate change has shifted the timing of seasonal events. That’s called phenology, which is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena.
You can contribute to this kind of citizen science yourself. The UK Phenology Network, run by the Woodland Trust, invites people to record first sightings of things like frogspawn, blossom, and migrant birds. In the US, the USA National Phenology Network runs a similar project called Nature’s Notebook.
Your small observations are genuinely useful. Edith Holden didn’t know that in 1906 either.
What to Look For in February
This is the month of firsts. The first snowdrop, first frogspawn and the first time you hear a bird singing rather than just calling. These firsts matter. Note them down with the date and location.
Snowdrops. One of the most beloved signs of the turning year in the UK and much of northern Europe. Look for them in churchyards, woodland edges, and old gardens. In the US, early crocuses and witch hazel often play a similar role as the first brave flowers of the year.
Birdsong. This is the big one for February. The dawn chorus is starting to build again. Robins, great tits, and song thrushes are among the first to get going in the UK. In North America, listen for black-capped chickadees and Carolina wrens starting to sing their territorial songs. Try going outside early one morning and just listening. It’s genuinely lovely.
Frogspawn and newts. In milder parts of the UK and Europe, frogs can start spawning in February, especially in the south. Find a local pond and check it regularly. In the US, wood frogs are often among the earliest amphibians to breed, sometimes calling in February even when snow is still on the ground.
Catkins. Hazel catkins are often the first tree flowers of the year in the UK, and they can appear as early as January in mild spots. In February, they’re usually in full swing. Alder catkins follow. Look along riverbanks and hedgerows.
Mosses and lichens. February is a good time to slow right down and look at the things that don’t need warmth to thrive. Mosses are often bright green and beautiful in winter. Get close to a wall, a tree trunk, or a stone. Look at what’s living there. It’ll surprise you.
Inspired by Edith: Try a Dated Entry
One of the things I love about Edith Holden’s diary is that every entry is dated. Not “a cold day in February” but “February 8th.” That specificity matters. It creates a real record rather than a vague impression.
So this month, try writing dated entries in your journal. Even if they’re short. Even if all you write is: February 4th. Mild and grey. Three blackbirds on the lawn. Heard a great tit singing for the first time this year.
That’s enough. Over the years, those dated entries have become something genuinely precious. You start to see patterns. You notice that the snowdrops always appear in the same week. Or that the frogs were a fortnight earlier this year than last. You become a person who knows their place.
There’s a free printable nature journal template at The RSPB website if you want a bit more structure to get started.
The Wellbeing Bit (bear with me)
I know “nature is good for you” can feel like a slightly tired message at this point. But February is actually when many people hit a wall. The post-January motivation has worn off. Spring feels far away. In many parts of the world, Seasonal Affective Disorder peaks in late winter.
Getting outside helps. Even on the grey days. Even for twenty minutes. But the journaling adds something extra. It gives you a reason to be outside. A purpose. You’re not just “going for a walk.” You’re looking for something and becoming a person who notices things.
Research from the University of Exeter has found that people who engage regularly with nature report higher levels of wellbeing and life satisfaction than those who don’t. You can read more about their work at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health. The key finding is that it’s not about dramatic experiences. It’s about regular, attentive contact with the natural world.
February is a good month to practice attentive contact. The world is quiet enough to hear you back.
February Journalling Prompts
Pick one. Sit with it. See where it takes you.
- Find the first flower of spring in your area. Describe it in as much detail as you can. Where exactly is it? What does the ground around it look like?
- Go outside first thing in the morning. What do you hear? List every sound and try to identify what’s making each one.
- Find a patch of moss or lichen and spend five minutes looking at it closely. Write or sketch what you see.
- Note today’s sunrise and sunset times. Compare them to the start of January. What do you notice?
- Look at a bare tree and describe its shape. What does it remind you of? How is it different from other trees nearby?
- Write a dated entry in the style of Edith Holden. Date it, note the weather, and record one thing you observed.
A Final Thought
Edith Holden died in 1920, far too young, in an accident on the Thames. Her diary might have been lost entirely. Instead, it survived, and it’s been in print for nearly fifty years. Millions of people have found something in it that resonated.
I think what resonates is the attention itself. The care she took. The fact that she thought the world around her was worth recording. Not grand adventures. Just the world outside her window, across an ordinary year.
You can do that too. Your journal doesn’t need to be published or preserved. But the practice of keeping it will change how you move through the year. And February, with its first tentative signs of life, is a quietly perfect time to feel why.
Next month: March and the real arrival of spring. What to expect when everything starts happening at once.
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