> Read the article and lots of conjecture 

I'm sorry - I linked to the plain-English press release, which does not
provide any of the data.

The link to the published papers that AAAS press releases announce is always
under the heading "Related Journal Article"
http://nature.com/articles/s41598-017-02045-z
Far less conjecture in the journal article, as one would expect for
something to get published in "Nature".

> especially over such a short period of data taking.

12 years is "short"? How long should one collect data before publishing?  If
I have an effect that yields statistically significant results over 5 years,
do I need more data from prior years?

The paper explains that the green-up advanced by about a full day per year:

"Over the 12 year period, green-up dates advanced significantly in 27
species' breeding ranges, by a mean of 0.952 days/year..."

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