Hazelnuts...

[Jessiebean]

It looks like my baby Hazels have catkins which I thought was odd- I am new to them but I didn't expect them in summer of the first year... there were some wee tufty reddish things in Spring, plenty of growth over the next months and now catkins.. is this normal?

[Odsox]

Yes it is normal although I'm trying to get my head around your seasons.
First off, the red tufty tassels are female flowers and the catkins are the male flowers and they pollinate by wind/air movements.

You can see catkins on my hazels from about August onwards (so your February) but they don't elongate and become flexible until the female flowers emerge about February (your August) depending on the weather. Hope that makes sense.

If you bought a "proper" variety rather than a hedging hazel, then it will produce nuts a lot younger than a wild one.

[Jessiebean]

right, thanks for your help(Hazels aren't common around here) the season thing is tricky but I think it makes sense...the female flowers appeared late August (Late Winter) here- they were planted in July )Mid Winter).. I assume they are a proper hazelnut and not the hedging variety as I bought them from a fruit tree nursery and there are three types to help with pollination!