FULL SPRING IN TROMSØ, NORTHERN NORWAY
Today, 8 June, it is still dry, but the winds are northwesterly and
temperatures have decreased till about 10*C. It may therefore be encouraging to
write down my reminiscences of the last week, one of those weeks that make
spring and summer here in N. Norway so special. We have had sunny days (and
these last of course 24 hours a day, as we are now in the 2 months long
midnight-sun period!) practically all week, and although the maximum
temperatures probably never came much above 20*C, it feels much warmer in a
way----we must have larger degrees than most other people!
After my travels to Holland and Hungary it was a great pleasure to drive out to
the wetlands at Rakfjord-Riisvika along the Kvalsund last Saturday, in order to
see how far spring had come (clearly much less far than further south in
Europe), and to welcome back all the summer guests that had returned to the
nesting area while I was away. Last time I was there, 4 weeks ago, there was
still snow and ice on the wetlands, and few signs of life. Now, although there
still were few flowers here (apart from the always pleasantly surprising small
creeping stars of the creeping Trailing Azalea Loiseleuria), there were birds
everywhere: pairs of Greylag Geese floated offshore or walked around on
territory, and the local pair of Whooper Swans already had taken their nest of
last year in use again. As always, Mallards, Red-throated Mergansers and
Wigeons dominated among the ducks, and at least one pair of Black-throated
Divers (Arctic Loon) had returned. Just as last year, one of the shallow small
lakes again contained phalaropes, colourful Ruffs foraged along its edges, and
Redshanks were nervous as always. Overhead Snipe winnowed, and---although fewer
than I had expected--- Whimbrels and Golden Plovers provided the summer music,
with constant cuckooing in the background. the Common Gulls were back on
territory, and Arctic Terns fished in the shallows, although there was as yet
only a single pair of Arctic Skuas back here.
Where there are houses along the road (the area is protected, so must be viewed
from the road), there are trees (mostly willows and birches) and here there are
also songbirds; on the marsh itself there are only Meadow Pipits and Starlings.
But in the gardens Norways most numerous bird, the Willow Warbler is
ubiquitous, and also the other common wood birds: Brambling, Redwing and
Fieldfare can be heard regularly. In addition, the people often put out
nestboxes, so there are Great Tits and the short optimistic song strophes of
their great competitor for the boxes, the Pied Flycatcher. Most of the farms
have Starlings and White Wagtails, but there are no sparrows here.
Later in the week I showed one of my favourite areas, the outlying island of
Hillesøy, close to the open sea, to my brother and his lady, who were on a
visit to the exotic far north. This island---at least the part that we walked--
is flat and covered by peat, so one almost automatically gets a spring in one
steps, it is also full of flowers, the mnany shell-rests provide apparently
enough chalk to yield a rich vegetation. In addition to the typical early
spring flowers (and this year the white flowers of the cloudberry Rubus
chamaemorus were especially many) we found already a few that rightly belong to
summer, and then become much more dominant: Trientalis, what we call the Forest
Star (a much nicer name than Chickweed Wintergreen, IMO) and the false flowers
of the Swedish Cornel Cornus suecica. A few places I even saw the first white
Mountain Aven Dryas octopetala, telling me how rich the soil is here.
Here Common, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls nest, there are a few pairs
of Arctic Skuas also here, Curlews blow their fantastic bronze flute, and now
and then one gets startled when a Greylag Goose ponderously flies off from
almost underfoot. Willow Grouse cackle; they now have brown heads and necks,
but still white bodies and of course wings. And this is one lof the few places
where I alm almost sure to find nesting Rock Pipits, mostly I suppose because I
tried too little at other localities, that are less easy of access. No sea
eagles this time (we saw one later on), and sea mist prevented me to add the
Shag to the year list, although a single Black Guillemot loomed up out of the
fog. Common Eiders there are galore, and by now the drakes are definitely in
the majority; most of the ducks probably are already on eggs. On the lee side
of the island a flock of some 25 Goosanders (Common Mergansers, if your prefer)
loafed, also those mainly drakes.
In Folkeparken, where I walk every day to and from work, these last days the
small yellow violets Viola biflora twinkle everywhere and gradually take over
for the white Wood Sorrel Oxalis. Here and there there are carpets of Anemone
nemorosa. The 'wall-to-wall-carpet' of Storkbills Geranium is developing
rapidly, but the flowers are still in bud, and the frequent clumps of large
ferns are still unrolling.
There is much birdsong now, although the earliest songsters, such as the Great
and Willow Tits and the Dunnock, are already largely silent, no doubt occupied
with nest and maybe young. But the later arrivals still sing actively; also
here the big four: Redwing, Fieldfare (not much of a songster, although noisy
enough), Brambling and Willow Warbler, are the mist common, but there are also
Pied Flycatchers and Chiffchaffs----sadly the more sensitive species , such as
Garden Warbler and Bluethroat, are no longer here: too many kids, cats and
dogs.And this year we have not got any of the inland birds that now and then
come to Folkeparken; I have seen the Woodpigeon only once, and the Song Thrush
and European Robin not at all. While the redpolls usually and for some unknown
reason alwas first become common in mid-summer.
This is the most wonderful time of the year here, and that is high praise!
Wim Vader, Tromsø Museum
9037 Tromsø, Norway
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