Two years ago, this would have been simple. March meant snow. Black grouse were photographed on clean white backgrounds. Light was reflected from the ground, and everything felt consistent.
This year is different.
In Oulu, the average temperature for March was +1.5°C. The long-term average (1990–2020) is −4.7°C. That makes this March more than 6°C warmer than normal.
In practice, it means the snow is gone too early.
Light stays the same — but it doesn’t feel the same
At this latitude, spring is driven by light.
In December, we have around four hours of daylight, all of it low and soft. It is almost just a long sunrise and sunset.
By summer, the day is close to twenty hours long.
That rhythm has not changed.
But snow changes how that light behaves.
On sunny days, snow acts as a very strong reflector. It fills shadows and lifts the whole scene. Without it, shadows become deeper and backgrounds lose brightness.
Situations that used to feel simple become more demanding.
At the same time, snow allows more creative images. So even if the light itself is the same, the photographs are not.
Backgrounds are no longer simple
Snow simplifies everything.
When it disappears, the ground turns yellow and uneven. There are branches, dry grass, and textures.
Compositions that used to be clean become busy very quickly.
Feeding sites are also harder to manage. The ground is still frozen, but old branches have fallen and stayed where they are. It is not easy to decorate the scene in the same way as before.
Earlier, this snow-free period was short. When the snow melted, green followed quickly.
Even after a warm March, I expect that real green will not arrive until May.
Behaviour follows light, not temperature
Some things have not changed.
Black grouse still start their lek based on light, not only based on temperature. The timing is familiar.
But the setting is different.
This spring, there were no images of black grouse on snow. The snow was gone before the lek really began.
For me, that changes the whole feeling of the season.
At the same time, our lek site is on sandy ground, which works well also without snow. It creates a different kind of setting—less minimal, but still strong in its own way.
I still find myself waiting for snow.
A season that feels slightly out of place
The landscape already looks like early May, and many migratory birds have arrived in the north.
Most people seem happy about the warmth and the early spring.
But it came too early.
The birds have also arrived too early.
If a cold front comes—and it likely still will—it can cause real problems for birds that are already here, and for many plants that have started to grow too early.
So even if it already looks like spring, even we all love warm and sun after long winter, spring should not come yet.
Waiting for something that used to be certain
What feels most unusual is not just the change itself, but the uncertainty.
We had a cold and snowy winter. March used to still feel like winter. Snowfalls in early May was normal. Snow used to be something I could rely on at this time of year. Now it disappears earlier, even after a proper winter.
Even though climate change is a reality, I still hope this is not the new normal. Maybe just a few warmer springs among others. The last time it was this warm here was close to a hundred years ago.
Time will show what next spring looks like…
But whatever it will be, I think it is time for all of us to take responsibility of the environment, of protecting it, and of how we consume.
Even if, in the current world situation, it can feel small or even irrelevant at times.
Still, it is worth taking care of the nature close to us.
If you want to read more
If you are interested in how conditions affect wildlife photography, you can read more here:
Leave a Reply