WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES!
This last week we have had pretty mild weather, by our standards, in
Tromsø, N.Norway: temperatures during the day a few degrees above freezing,
and periods of sunshine among the long drizzly spells (And the sun already
shines until almost 10 pm at night!). This weather is quite good for snow
melt; the official snow depth has decreased to ca 45 cm (Almost exactly 2 m
less than 2 years ago, when we set the new snow record with 2.43 cm on 29
April 1997!), but on south-exposed fields and especially slopes near shore
the snow has often disappeared completely. And the more than 250 km I drove
this weekend were now all on bare roads. (Still on my studded
"winter-tires", though; experience has told us not to be too optimistic
this time a year. cf the lessons of 1997!))
Saturday was a gloriously sunny, calm day, and I had planned to drive
"around the Balsfjord"; sadly, a severe cold---another sure sign of
spring-- robbed me of the necessary energy, so I kept to the same loop
"around Andersdalen" that I had done the weekend before. In the "colder"
parts of the route the differences were not all that visible: 40 cm snow
looks pretty much like 60 cm snow, and the ice on Ramfjorden looked as
solid as before, although for some reason the flocks ("unkindnesses"?) of
Ravens of last week now were nowhere to be seen.
At the river crossing at Andersdalen the young Glaucous gulls had
disappeared, and I saw the first of many White Wagtails Motacilla alba, a
most welcome harbinger of spring in these parts, and a bird that almost
seems to seek out the company of man. Further on along the southern shore I
walked through an area of dense birch forest, a rich passerine area later
in spring; but here the forest was still completely silent (I heard a
single Black Grouse Tetrao tetrix), with the gurgling of melt-water under
the snow the only prevalent spring sound.
But at my next stop and walk (or rather "potter") , at Stornes, it was
very clear "what a difference a week may make". The fields here were now
almost snow-free (although with ice still on the larger ponds), the
Lapwings Vanellus vanellus demonstrated their acrobatic aerial displays,
and the Curlews Numenius arquata flew around blowing their bronze trumpets.
The Common Gulls Larus canus , now at full strength, and very much in a
spring mood, fly around in pairs, threes or fours, and their loud
penetrating calls have become (and will remain until late summer) the
dominant sounds of the area. The Shelducks, that have nested here the last
few years, have also returned this week.
The Oystercatchers now are present in an unbroken string of territories
along the shore, and every now and then they demonstrate their impressive,
although also a tiny bit ludicrous Piping Ceremonies, where they move
around each other in tight groups on stiff legs like marionets, while
calling their steadily accelerating series of "klepeets", climaxing in a
loud and penetrating trill.
On one ploughed field to my great surprise also of a dozen or so of
Wood
Pigeons Columba palumbus, were grubbing for seeds, a somewhat southern
species of dove that is slowly expanding its breeding area northwards.
Still more surprising were the 2 pairs of Blue tits Parus caeruleus around
farmhouses, where the birds clearly are fed all winter, and where they
competed with snall flocks of Greenfinches. The small, but feisty Blue
Tits, so common further south in Europe, used to have their northern
boundary of distribution at ca 65°N, so quite far south of here; but in the
last 10 years they have suddenly been found at several localities in the
province of Nordland and in the southernmost part of our province of Troms,
and clearly the march north still goes on. Blue Tits are almost resident
birds most places, and it is not clear what has triggered this sudden
expansion. It is a beautiful bird, and very tame around the house, so it is
a welcome newcomer.
While watching the Blue Tits, I suddenly heard a weak metallic
jingle
from a clump of birches further down the shore: the first Dunnock Prunella
modularis of this spring has returned! As if to underline, that spring is
really arriving even here in the far north, I soon after saw a butterfly
Aglais urticae (These insects overwinter as imago, so wake up very early in
spring often), and found the first Coltsfeet Tussilago farfara in flower).
On Sunday I drove out to the coast, to Sommarøya, (see picture
on my
website), where two weeks ago there was so much snow that all paths were
obscured. Now all snow had disappeared, apart from some large wind-blown
drifts, and the Willow Grouse had started their metamorphosis into summer
plumage, with most birds showing brown heads and necks above an immaculate
white body. The Curlews were displaying also here, and Snow Buntings
swirled everywhere, but as yet there were no Whimbrels nor any geese.
At the wetland of Tisnes the Common Gulls had now moved onto
the colony
meadows; also here the snow had mostly gone, but the ponds and wettest
areas were still covered with ice. The Mallards have sorted themselves out
in pairs, and the local pair of Shelducks Tadorna tadorna is again present.
Tens of Starlings line the wires, together with a small flock of Twites
Carduelis flavirostris, and also here the Lapwings are in full display. No
Redshanks, Snipe or Ruffs as yet, nor any of the small shorebirds; but here
and there sedate pairs of Greylag Geese Anser anser are grazing, back on
their home turf, and in the far back I also discovered a pair of Pinkfooted
Geese Anser brachyrhynchos, stopping over on their way to the nesting areas
in Svalbard.
So even if I searched in vain for thrushes, finches,
chiffchaffs, and
small shorebirds, as well as for the Saxifraga at Tisnes, still this week
has seen a clear step towards spring at 70°N, and 1999 still promises to be
a quite early year, if we avoid major fresh snowfalls. I'll keep you posted!
Wim Vader, Tromsø Museum
9037 Tromsø, Norway
http://www.imv.uit.no/ommuseet/enheter/zool/wim/index.html
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