Every year cyclical change of seasons occurs in temperate latitudes. Snow is melting, the leaves on the trees are expanding, birds are returning from their wintering grounds, and plants are beginning to blossom. When summer ends, nature is dying away: fruits and berries are ripening, birds are heading to wintering grounds, and animals are getting ready for winter. Patterns of nature's seasonal change are studied by the science of phenology. Data obtained through long-term observations of the first dates when various phenomena occur allows to reveal yearly changes, such as cyclic patterns and trends toward earlier or later dates
           In Russia, voluntary phenological observations have been carried out for more than 200 years now under the aegis of the Russian Geographic Society. The observers are mainly schoolteachers, students, teams of young naturalists, and volunteering regional researchers. The Chronicle of the Russian nature is being created through their work. The observation network of the reserves and scientific research stations is of particular importance. Their number is not great, but observations are carried out by specialists there and those locations serve as sort of 'bench marks', on the basis of which phenological materials from other points are controlled.
           Bird cherry blooming is one of the most distinctive phenomena in nature cycle. Especially as a bird cherry is a long-time companion of humans present practically in all inhabited localities and whose start of blossoming can be easily recorded.
           This section of the website presents information on the dates of bird berry first blossom in individual locations of the European territory of Russia for the last decades of the 20th century. The dates are arranged in continuous series with count beginning from March 1. You can analyze them and find out the tendencies in the dates of bird cherry blossoming in individual areas and in the region as a whole. You can also join the process of compiling the Chronicle of the Russian Nature by starting phenological observations in your locality. All necessary methodological information you can get by contacting Minin Alexander Andreevich at his e-mail address: aminin@pochtamt.ru.
           It is possible to view the data in two modes. When you select a year from the first menu, the map of the European part of the country showing the observation spots will be displayed, where different colors will reflect the dates of bird cherry initial blossoming. If you select the point of observation from the second menu you will get the table with the dates of bird cherry first bloom in this particular point for the whole observation period.

Data sequence of long-term observations, © A.A.Minin