Northern Norway has had a somewhat uncommon summer: May and June were warm (by
our standards) and dry here, while the rest of the country complained about
rain and low temperatures. But around the end of June the situation changed
completely: on 1 July we had 50mm of rain, and since then we have had only a
single day without rain, while te maximum temperatures fell from the low
twenties to 10-12*C.
But of course we still have summer (In fact, this weather is more common up
here in summer than the warm spells of May-June). Now our two months of
midnight sun are almost over (21 July the sun will go down again before
midnight) and the roadside vegetation here on the island is dominated by the
'Tromsø palms', giant Heracleum forbs, that may grow to 3-4m tall, with very
large white flower stands (often full of flies). They were imported from Russia
well over a century ago, and do almost too well here in town.
Otherwise the carpets of violet Cranebills Geranium in the woodlands and white
Cow Parsley Anthriscus in the meadows are rapidly fading now, the Dwarf Cornel
Cornus suecica has exchanged its white flowers for red (insipid) berries, and
in the ditches the violet Butterwort Pinguicula has made place for the
beautiful 'innocent' flowers of the Grass of Parnassus Parnassia. Dominent now
in the meadows and also in many woodlands are the tall creamy white flowers of
the Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria (very popular with the bumblebees), while
here and there there are dense and often extensive patches of the very
conspicuous Rosebay (Fireweed) Chamerion angustifolium. Most patches, so
conspicuous that they can easily be seen from a landing plane, are a vivid red
violet, but a few are pink instead (the entire patch, makes one wonder how they
reproduce and spread)
For birds this is not a very ideal season. There is no bird song anymore, most
ducks are in eclipse and hide, and the migration of shorebirds has not yet
started.(On two excursions, last Friday (the one day without rain) and this
morning (in the rain) I failed to see a single Greylag Goose, a common nesting
bird in the area, and today I did not even get a Mallard on the day list!) I
drove to the often described wetlands of Tisnes, an agricultural low-lying
peninsula some 30 km from Tromsø on the outlying large island of Kvaløya. The
area consists of very wet meadows adjacent to the shore, with a few ponds that
are often productive. The 'horse ponds', close to the road and used by the many
horses of one of the local farms, have a very broad fringe of Marestail
Hippuris vulgaris, with also stands of a species of Willow-herb Epilobium and
Marsh Cinquefoil Potentilla palustris, with in spring lots of golden Marsh
Marigold Caltha. Here there were young Lapwings Vanellus, still a single Golden
Plover (there were many more earlier), a couple of Ruffs and Reeves , and a few
Redshank. Around the pond frolicked lots of mostly young White Wagtails, and
above hunted Sand Martins (Bank Swallows). In the other. larger pool, further
from the road, swam the great surprise of the day, a Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna
ferruginea, a bird that does not belong in N. Norway at all and which I have
never seen here before; I suppose we will never know whetherthis is a genuine
vagrant or an escapee. A Wigeon walked past with 8 young and as everywhere here
now, there are also here young Eiderducks.
The chalk rich meadow here used to have a very diverse vegetation, but the
horses have damaged the area quite a bit. Still, there are lots of flowers
still, and I was much surprised to find some very late flowers of Purple
Saxifrage, my harbinger of spring in N. Norway, as well as the very first
flowers of Felwort Gentianella, usually one of the last flowers to come here.
('Bien étonnés de se trouver ensemble'!). Aftre a long search I found a single
plant of my favourite tiny fern Moonwort Bostrychium, for which I searched in
vain last summer. Redshanks and Oystercatchers alarmed all the time I was
there, and i also found a Curlew with large young. A young Garden Warbler was a
.
The day list counted only 26 birds (just as last Friday on the other side of
Kvaløya, although there with 9 different birds), but it is always good to get
out in the field. Tell me, if there are too many plants in this stiry for a
birding list!
Wim Vader, Tromsø
Museum
9037
Tromsø, Norway
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