EARLY AUTUMN
IN TROMSØ, N.NORWAY
2010 has been the wettest summer ever in Tromsø, not that we normally have
all that much precipitation compared to many other places; it has been
cool too, never above 20*C. But by now the weather has improved and we can
call it quite nice autumn weather: calm, often quite sunny, and with
temperatures of 10-12*C middays. There is definitely autumn in the air
already: although most trees are still green, a lot of the birches Betula
show yellow patches already, and in the heath the leaves of the Black
Bearberry Arctostaphylos alpina are already turning a beautiful dark red.
Also the flowers show the autumn aspect; of course stalwarts such as
Yarrow Achillea, Harebells Campanula rotundifolia, Buttercups and clovers
are still in full flower, but the often dominant Meadowsweets Filipendula
ulmaria and the Goldenrods Solidago virgaurea are already fading, and the
Yellow Rattles Rhinanthus still show a few flowers , but mostly the
purselike fruits, leading to the folk name pengegress (moneygrass)
locally.
Not too many birds here this time a year, or rather, not all that easy to
find the birds. (One should always remember, that I am a lousy bird
spotter---my eyes are not good, and my ears are fading fast---so that
there usually is more present than what I see). I wanted to see a few
shorebirdsfor my yearlist that often are easiest in late summer here:
phalaropes, Little Stints and Curlew Sandpiper, but I have hitherto missed
them all. Yesterday I started out at the airport, where a few places the
Parnassia, one of my favourite flowers, and fortunately a common species
here, still is in full flower. High tide, but still not too many
shorebirds to find: a small flock of Dunlins, another one with Red Knots,
and a few Oystercatchers, in addition to the local Redshanks and
Oystercatchers and a single pair of Ringed plovers. But everywhere Arctic
Terns, adults and this year's juveniles, clearly already gathering before
their migration to the other side of the earth; a few adults even
half-heartedly dived at me still. The Bank Swallows(Sand Martins) have
mostly gone; I saw a single one at the airport, none at Tisnes, where they
also nest
The wetlands of Tisnes seldom disappoint, but this time there were not
many shorebirds there either, a few Spotted Redshanks, and a handful of
Ruff, plus the local Redshanks and Oystercatchers. Lots of cormorants now
again---also at the airport--, also a sure sign of autumn: in summer they
go elsewhere to nest. But this area is chalk rich, so here there are
always interesting flowers. Field gentians Gentianella, both the normal
violet-blue, and the less common white form, are common here, an autumn
composite (Leontodon?) flowers in large numbers, and if you search well
enough, you can find two most interesting small lower plants, Lesser
Clubmoss Selaginella, and Moonwort Bostrychium. I never rest in early
autumn before I have found a few minuscule yellowish-green Moonwort ferns;
it is the subtly different colour that gives them away---they are only a
few cm's tall. Also many mushrooms by now, but I do not know these well;
puffballs I can recognize, and a few red Russulas.
Today I drove to the other side of Kvaløya, the wetlands and heath of
Rakfjord, where the ground is acid and the rocks granite-hard and covered
with heath: fresh green crowberries Empetrum, heather Calluna, now in full
flower, and Arctostaphylos alpina with colouring berries and already deep
red leaves. Also here Parnassia is common on wet places. The wetlands
themselves always look quite drab, except the patches covered with the
white fluff of cottongrass Eriophorum. And the marshes are by now almost
empty: the Arctic Skuas (Parasitic Jaegers) that nest here, have left, and
so have the Whimbrels and Golden Plovers., and even most of the Common
Gulls The ducks are absent or invisible in the by now tall marsh
vegetation, but the local pair of Red-throated Loons still floats around
with their single chick, by now almost full size.
I tried the airport area also today, and found basically the same birds,
minus the Dunlins and Ringed Plovers. But this time there were some Ruffs
and two Bar-tailed Godwits. And everywhere there are Eiders, at Tisnes in
large flocks, already with an attending large gull, that kleptoparasitizes
the ducks when they surface with large prey. At Rakfjord there were also
several Red-breasted Mergansers, as usual, but in addition today was
Greylag day; I had already seen some 40 geese on the sound, probably also
Greylags, but at Rakfjord no less than 98 Greylag Geese flew in to the
lagoon, while I was parked there. When I returned to the spot an hour
later, they were all gone again. No doubt they will soon migrate.
I'll have Australian guests again two weeks from now, and I fear I shan't
be able to show them much more than the fjords and mountains. They are
impressive enough, I hope!
Wim Vader, Tromsø Museum
9037 Tromsø, Norway
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