From: Vader Willem Jan Marinus
Sent: 9. juni 2013 17:12
To: birdchat
Cc:
Subject: Full spring in Tromsø
A WONDERFUL MAY IN TROMSØ, N. NORWAY IN 2013
After the dismal summer of 2012 here in Tromsø (if you overslept one day, you
might have missed that summer) the winter 2012-2013 was also a bit peculiar (as
seems to become the norm these days): for a long time we had frost without much
snow, and then in March-April 2013 we suddenly got a whole load of snow, up to
1.5m on the ground in mid April. But from then on our luck turned, as first
much of the snow melted slowly and regularly, thus avoiding severe flooding
(Contrary to S. Norway, and now also Central Europe), and then May became
wonderfully warm and dry, the best May I can remember in the 40 years I have
lived in Tromsø. So in the end the trees became green at the normal time after
all (around 20 May) and although the first migrant birds were 2 weeks late, the
later ones arrived more or less 'on time'. 'Hot May weather' in Tromsø is
19-21*C in the afternoon, and I know this won't impress you much, but together
with calm weather and sun 24 hrs a day (21 May to 21 July) I can assure you
that there is no better place to be than in N. Norway in spring. Now of course
this could not last for ever, and just now we have one of those changes that
are so typical for our area. Yesterday sun and 22*C, today partly cloudy and
12*C, and tomorrow rain, northerly winds and a maximum of 6*C.
I had my elder sister (80) and her daughter on a visit just when the weather
was nicest, and we profited by sitting in the garden till late in the evening
(there were not even midges as yet!) and visiting several of my old haunts,
that I have written so often about. Here I'll write a little about two of these
areas, both wetlands of sorts, and both ca 35 km from Tromsø town by road. One,
the Rakfjord area, is situated on the northern part of the large and
mountainous island of Kvaløya, which is situated between Tromsø and the open
ocean. The rocks there are hard and acidic, so the vegetation is much less
luxuriant than further south, where there is much chalk in the ground. The
hills are covered with heath, often with small birch and willow scrubs here and
there; the ground vegetation is of a variety of berry-bearing dwarf scrubs, as
well as heather Calluna vulgaris. A few weeks ago the only flowers here were
the white Cloudberry flowers, that later hopefully will develop in the yellow
berries, that Norwegians are so fond of. There are also quite early the small
pink stars of Loiseleuria , the creeping Azalea, and now the white-pink globes
of another heath, Andromeda serpyllifolia. This is the favourite area of the
Whimbrels and one now hears everywhere their stuttering alarm calls, and their
beautiful 'song', ending in a characteristic trill. The other day, a pair of
these Whimbrels saw off a hunting Short-eared Owl, a bird which I don't see
many years, but this year already 5 times. Also Golden Plovers are common here
in the beginning of the season, but by now many have moved to higher ground.
The common smaller birds here are Meadow Pipits and Northern Wheatears, while
also here the ubiquitous Common Gulls nest; they really live up to their name
in the Tromsø area, nesting from downtown Tromsø to the most remote valleys. As
soon as there are some scrubs, one hears the beautiful, but somewhat melancholy
song-strophes of the Willow Warbler, the most numerous bird in Norway.
The Rakfjord elva (elv=river) runs out here, through a series of marshes and
lakes and into a very shallow, mostly tidal bay (tidal amplitude here is ca
3m). Here there are always ducks and geese: the geese are Greylags, of which we
seem to get more and more, while the most common duck here is probably the
fish-eating Red-throated Merganser. But also Mallards (One with pulli today),
Wigeons and Tufted Ducks are common here, and two of the lakes hold a pair of
loons, Red-throated loons in one, Arctic Loons in the other (What I call the
swan lake, as a pair of Whooping Swans has nested there for years. They
returned also this spring, but must have moved to one of the more remote
lakes.) Also here there are lots of Common Gulls, and this year also Arctic
Terns, as well as a few Parasitic Jaegers (Only 2 pairs this year, normally
there are more). Close to the road there is a shallow round small lake, now
fringed with a broad belt of the beautiful white chandelier flower-stands of
the Bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata. These, and the sedges and Equisetum belts,
provide excellent cover for the two pairs of phalaropes Phalaropus lobatus that
nest here, and try as I might, half of the time I can't find them at all, even
if they are not at all shy. Also the Ruffs usually disappear completely as soon
as they alight, while the Redshanks are so nervous and loud that one can't
overlook them. Snipe there are here too, but as the area is protected so one
cannot walk into the marsh, one only notes the snipes when they 'bleat'
overhead, or sit somewhere calling their monotonous ground display call. On the
shores of the sound here there are lots of Eider ducks and Oystercatchers, also
Curlews and the larger gulls, Herring and Great Black-backed.
The other wetland, Tisnes, is on the south coast of Kvaløya, in the chalk rich
area, and it is a low-lying moraine sticking out into the fjord. It is fully
agricultural, with several farms, and all the ground is in use as grassland;
one farm has been taken in use for horses, and that has ruined a wonderful
chalk meadow, but also provided two new ponds, that are very popular with the
birds and also close to the road, so that one can watch using the car as a
blind. Several of the fields here are extremely marshy, and now yellow with
Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris, a very common spring flower in the Tromsø
area, later several species of Cotton Grass Eriophorum will dominate the
scenery here. Tisnes traditionally is famous for its Ruffs, their numbers have
been decreasing steadily these last decades, but this year there are quite
many, with maybe 10 spectacular males, and almost as many females around.
Otherwise Tisnes is a place for ducks, and we often have rare ducks (for us)
here; as these are species that are much more common further south, other
birders are not always much impressed by our Shovelers, Gadwalls, and
Garganeys; they rather come for the wintering King Eiders and Yellow-billed
Loons (now long gone). But last year we also had a few Avocets, and this spring
no less than 3 Pectoral Sandpipers, and later a Lesser Yellowlegs, so it is
always worth to check Tisnes. Today there were no specialties, just Mallards,
Wigeons, Teal and a single male Pintail. Also Lapwings nest here still, another
species in steady decrease in our area.
On the way back I stopped for a while at a bight close to Kvaløysletta, where
the bridge from Kvaløya to Tromsøya is. No special birds here today, but when I
sat for a while reading the Sunday paper, I was suddenly surrounded by no less
than 14 Reindeer, not noticing me at all. What a pity then, that I have stopped
taking pictures!
I have the feeling that I have written roughly similar stories several times
before over the years. Let me know if you are still interested in the
occasional story from Tromsø.
Wim Vader, Tromsø Museum
9037 Tromsø, Norway
<>
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
|
