Total monthly rainfall: 74.5 millimetres. Maximum daily rainfall: 25.5mm (6^th March).
Altogether there were 15 days with measurable rainfall, including 5 minutes of snow and 15 minutes of hail on the morning of the 29^th. There were also 11 days with 100% cloud-cover for at least part of the day. Maximum temperature on the warmest day was 15°C on the 16th. Maximum temperature on the coldest days was 8°C on the 5^th, 20^th, and 29^th. There were 7 days with a very strong wind-chill between the 20^th and 28^th.

It was a good month for the early blooming of wildflowers. The cuckoo flower first appeared around the lake the on March 13^th, followed next day by the wood anemone in our deciduous woodland.

March 18^th produced scarlet pimpernel near the garden pond and marsh marigold on and beside the water. The first flowering bluebells appeared in the wood on the 19^th, while the greater stitchwort flowered in the ride on the 20^th, the same day as the first snake’s head fritillary alongside another of our ponds. The last two wildflowers to appear this month were the wood violet in the ride, and periwinkle beside our verge-side front hedge on the 24^th. The 9 wildflowers seen this month bring our total to 19 species for the year so far.

• First bluebell First bluebell
• First periwinkle First periwinkle
• First snake's head fritillary First snake's head fritillary
• Frogs spawn Frogs spawn
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Five more wild bird species this month brought our total to 40 so far. Three long-tailed tits appeared on a feeder in the garden on March 3^rd. A buzzard circled high above our wood on the 6^th, and a bullfinch settled on an apple tree In the garden on 14^th. Next day a sparrow hawk took a pigeon, and on the 18^th we heard some early chiff-chaffs in the woodland tree-tops.

Cooler weather with strong northerly winds did not produce the butterflies and moths the wildflowers needed, but we did spot a peacock butterfly on the 4^th (9°C), a red admiral on the 8^th (9°C), and a comma on the 23^rd (11°C). Other insects, especially bumblebees, fared better. There was a huge number of buff-tailed bumblebees, plus a first-sighting of the red-tailed bumblebee on the 19^th, white-tailed bumblebee (22^nd), and a bee-lookalike called a bee-fly (also on the 22^nd (among celandine). A seven-spot ladybird was found on a fence-post among woodland brambles on the 2^nd, and our regular checks on the hibernating 16-spot ladybirds produced the following observations:

March 6^th – 180 ladybirds left on 6 double-fence posts; 9^th March – 150 ladybirds remain; 10^th March – 100 ladybirds on 4 double-fence posts; 29^th March – about 80 ladybirds left; March 31^st – about 50  remain, all about the same size they were at the beginning of the month.

Tree and shrub development from winter into spring was as follows:

March 3^rd – blackthorn blossom started to appear. March 15^th – Silver birch and wild cherry buds began to open. March 17^th – Silver birch and hornbeam began producing small leaves. March 21^st – Field maple buds began to open. March 24th - Wild cherry blossom began. March 25^th- Field maple first leaves appeared. March 28^th – Horse chestnut buds began opening.

Finally, on March 16^th, the first frogs began spawning in considerable numbers, and a small number of toads did so on March 26^th.