few year birds, but one surpise

Few year-birds in Tromsø, but one surprise

A week ago I sent a mail, complaining about a surfeit of weather here in N.Norway these last weeks and telling that my 2017 year list now stood at all of 5 birds. Since then we have had two more winter storms, rainy days followed by snow and vice versa, with as a result often extremely slippery and icy roads: a bus with youngsters on its way to a large handball tournament here in Tromsø was blown off the road and capsized day before yesterday; fortunately no one was seriously injured and they continued with another bus (It is a 6-7 hrs trip from Alta) and played their matches!. But yesterday night we got 25 cm of fresh snow and it is easier today to get around on foot (with ‘brodder’, extra soles with studs, under my shoes), although for cars it clearly still is dangerous (many minor accidents today). The temperature is around freezing, the wind has abated some, and we have already clearly a bit more daylight than around Christmas (2 weeks until the sun peeps above the horizon again for a short while around noon).

My year-list has soared all the way up to 7 species. Number 6 was a flock of House Sparrows (Common, but very patchy here), but nr 7 was a real surprise, a male European Blackbird rummaging about in the snow near the museum this morning. This is one more southern species that slowly is expanding northwards, most probably a result of global warming. I have seen blackbirds (always males) here once or twice in the last three winters, once even in my garden, but only once before in the almost 40 years I have lived here. There ARE blackbirds in the forest a bit south of here, where one hears the wonderful song in spring; but there they are quite shy forest birds, just as they probably were in most of Europe in earlier centuries.

The Blackbird is not the only newcomer here in Tromsø in the last years. Since 2 years I have quite regularly Blue Tits in my garden, and also the Jay is now seen by many people and comes to feeders in the area. Once I even had a Winter Wren in my garden, a bird that in this area normally only occurs, and very sparingly, along the seabird colonies on the outer coast.

We also have got in a few birds, that earlier only occurred in the inland pine forests a bit further south, such as the European Robin and the Wood Pigeon. Both can be heard, although usually but for a short while, in spring in Folkeparken, the woodland between my house and the museum.

So there is always change, and it is most interesting to follow this for many years in one place.

Wim Vader, Tromsø, Norway