should I post this question in a different forum? I didn't know which category to post in. hoping someone here is a filbert expert :)

Yes, if I remember correctly, my filberts also did this about this time of year when I first planted them.

Thanks for responding! I also wrote raintree to see what they had to say.

Just to follow up Raintree's answer was :
Many trees are confused when they get out of cold storage- yours sound like they are among those. They should get straightened out over the next year!

so, all is well.

You will probably find that, although the catkins form, they will not lengthen, open out and produce pollen until next spring. Also different individual bushes behave differently. I have wild hazels in my woodland and some are always earlier than others. I wouldn't worry. They'll sort themselves out.