MIDWINTER IN TROMSØ, NORTHERN NORWAY (FEW
BIRDS!)
It is now mid February, and in Tromsø day length increases rapidly and the sun
is up from 9 am to 3 pm, with every day about ten minutes more daylight than
the day before. After a series of 'easy' winters this one is an old-fashioned
snow-winter. We have had three periods of heavy snowfall this last month and
there is now around 1 1/2 meter of snow on the ground. The last snow days were
this weekend.
Here in Tromsø we are used to make fun of the people further south in Europe,
where everything stops up as soon as they have a few inches of snow. But this
time we were somewhat overwhelmed ourselves, the airport was closed for several
hours both Friday and Sunday, and at least five outlying villages were isolated
for a day or two because of avalanches covering the sole entrance roads. But
today the sun shines from almost clear skies, the temperature is 8-10*C below
zero, and all the roads are open again. After I fell heavily two weeks ago and
injured my wrist, I am diligent in using my grip soles every day nowadays, even
though on days as cold as today the roads are not especially slippery. But once
bitten, twice shy!
There are very few land birds around these days. All the Rowan Sorbus aucuparia
have been picked clean of their abundant berries by now, and both the
Fieldfares and the large flocks of Bohemian Waxwings have moved on. A few lone
Pine Grosbeaks Pinicola enucleator still linger on, and they are as tame as
always. In the gardens Magpies and tits once more reign supreme, while Hooded
Crows visit when nobody is looking, and there seem to be fewer Greenfinches
about than normal this winter. This morning I finally saw my first Bullfinch
Pyrrhula pyrrhula of the year (they seem to avoid my garden, now that many
trees have gone and the neighbours have expanded thier house a lot), and a few
people have also reported small flocks of Redpolls Acanthis flammea visiting
their feeders. A colleague here o the island had as many as four Blue Tits
Parus caeruleus in his garden and he has vowed to prepare a nestbox for them as
soon as possible.
On the coast the situation is about unchanged from my last communication, but
these days I have for the first time this winter heard complete Long Calls from
the wintering Herring Gulls, an early promise of spring to come!
Wim
Vader, Tromsø Museum
9037
Tromsø, Norway
==============================www.birding-aus.org
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