FIRST BIRDS OF 2011 IN TROMSØ, N. NORWAY
Midwinter is not an ideal time for birding here at 70*N, and this New Years day was no exception. there is very little daylight this time a year—-some twilight for an hour or so around noon—, and it snowed more or less heavily both yesterday and today (Maybe 3 feet on the ground, about normal for this time a year). When Riet and I returned from church shortly after midnight, amidst a slowly diminishing orgy of fireworks, all the birds had wisely hidden and we saw not a single one on the way. This morning, looking out the windows during a late breakfast yielded the two usual suspects, with this time the Hooded Crow two minutes before the European Magpie as nr 1. A short walk through winter wonderland—the temperature is just below freezing and there is little wind, so all the trees are covered with a thick coat of heavy wet snow—gave a few more birds: a few Greenfinches made off outside my garden and the reason became quickly apparent: a cruising Sparrowhawk, the second time I have seen this raptor here on New Year’s day. A bit further down the road a female Bullfinch adorned a snowy tree, a lucky find, as Bullfinches have become much less common around my house these last years. (My feeder tubes remain almost untouched these days, and I saw no tits as yet today).
At the sound the heavy snow showers made it impossible to see far, but I watched a lone fishing Cormorant close to shore and a bit further out some 8 duck silhouettes, which from the narrow beaks and wild crests were easily identitfied as Red-throated Mergansers. But no Common Eiders, the most common water bird here in winter, and not a single gull. On the way back a tight flock of some 50 Bohemian Waxwings rushed past, already bird nr 8 for my 2011 yearlist. Not at all bad; in 2010 bird nr 8 was not seen until 15 January!
I take the opportunity to wish you all an excellent 2011!
Wim Vader, Tromsø Museum
9037 Tromsø, Norway
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