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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