Our first mid winter trip to Tromsø has been a resounding success. We arrived at the end of Sami Week, an annual celebration of all things Sami, and got to see the Norwegian Championships in both lasso throwing and Reindeer racing. The reindeer racing happened on a snow lined downtown street on a 201m course. It was explained that 201m is the internationally defined distance for the sport but no explanation was given for why. A skier holds on to the reins whilst the animal runs and covers the distance in around 17 seconds. It all looked great fun although the animals didn’t exactly look thrilled whilst being harnessed up. Animal welfare was not mentioned once..
The Northern Lights also put on a show and this is one of the main reasons the City has become such a popular winter tourist destination and the streets were heaving with winter clothed tourists from ever corner of the globe. This tourism results in hotel prices going through the roof and rented accommodation being used for Air BnB rather than for locals or students who need it and is causing quite a lot of resentment among many natives.
I put on a «show» for the 100 or so students in Junior’s 8 storey high student block when whilst making food I slightly burnt some mince causing the smoke alarm to go off and the whole building to be evacuated. The fire brigade arrived within 10 minutes and were very good about it - I even think they were grateful to me for being given something to do on an otherwise boring Sunday evening ☺️
But what about the birds I hear you say. Well, they were tip top super. King Eiders and an adult Iceland Gull topped the bill and all seen whilst walking from Junior’s into town. Passerines are of course going to be in short supply in winter this far north but an abundance of rowan berries resulted in small flocks of Waxwing and and most surprisingly a Redwing which would be an exceptional mid winter sight even in Oslo.
The trusted superzoom and mobile phone resulted in the following documentation of the delights of Tromsø (this is done at the airport and I may come with some better edited photos later):
King Eider (praktærfugl) pair
Adult Iceland Gull (grønnlandsmåke)
Fieldfare (gråtrost)
Redwing (rødvingetrost)
I saw no divers in the field but this Yellow-billed was in Tromsø Museum
Where I also had my best ever «views» of a Gyr Falcon (Jaktfalk)
According to accepted Norwegian birding wisdom Shags (toppskarv) never perch like this…
Purple Sandpiper (fjæreplytt)
Herons have been roosting in the heronry trees by Junior’s flat all winter and they were present and noisy when we were there
Birding around Oslo continues in a very predictable manner.
I did have a small flock of Wood Pigeons seemingly migrating north but they may
also have been some of the small number of wintering birds just moving between
sites. Otherwise it has been same old, same old with Jack Snipe, Scaup, Kingfisher,
King Eider, Hawk and Pygmy Owl and the occasional Shag that have been receiving my attention, as
they have most of the year.
we haven't had much sun recently so it was pleasing to be able to see the Hawk Owl enjoying it
Common Snipe (enkeltbekkasin) is always more in the open and feeding when I find them unlike the Jack Snipes which are hidden amongst reeds
Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin).
These videos show how the birds slowly relaxes after I disappear from view and also how quickly it reacts when I reappear
a Shag (toppskarv) at Bygdøy together with a couple of Cormorants (storskarv)
a Blue Tit (blåmeis)
a man, his dog and a Hawk Owl
distant Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)
Common Snipe (enkeltbekkasin) on a very cold morning but it had found some open water
I headed today for Huk, Bygdøy with the hope of finding a
Long-tailed Duck to be my #Oslo2024 species number 202 and therefore mean post
redpoll lump that I would still be >=200 species. There was no Lt Duck and
not even any scoter so is clearly still a bit early for these hardy ducks to
have been forced off their mountain breeding grounds. But the Bird Gods were
feeling generous today and a pipit calling from one of the skerries turned out
to be a Rock Pipit 🥳🍾😅
I must admit to having forgotten about this species which
should definitely be on the cards in October but always good to have a
surprise.
With 202 species now there are 12 species reported on
eBird or ArtsObservasjoner that I have not seen. Of these I still have a more
than 50:50 chance only of seeing Capercaillie so if I am to add many more
species then they need to be ones not yet seen in Oslo this year. I still
reckon the following species could show up: Long-tailed Duck, Pine Grosbeak,
Hawk Owl, Mediterranean Gull, Glaucous Gull and Iceland Gull.
You can deduce then that I have given up on both Yb Warbler
and Tengmalm’s Owl but after finding my first Pygmy Owl of the autumn yesterday
in Maridalen I had to have one more unsuccessful attempt for Tengmalm’s in the
evening. But that really has to be the last.
Trips out of Oslo to Nordre Øyeren and Fornebu have not been
particularly productive.
Rock Pipit (skjærpiplerke) my species 202 in Oslo this year and one I had forgotten about. This is not a species I see annually in Oslo but late autumn and early spring are prime times to find one
the result of seeing Rock Pipit. In 2019 I added another 8 species between today and the end of the year although cannot see that happening in 2024
a Shag (toppskarv) alongside a Cormorant (storskarv) and Herring Gulls (gråmåke)
yesterday's Pygmy Owl (spurveugle)
I'm sure you know what you are supposed to find in this picture
this is what you have hopefully found - Jack Snipe (kvartbekkasin)
close up of the mantle feathers
Great Grey Shrike (varsler) in Maridalen today. Lack of a wing bar and an all black bill should make this an adult male and definitely a different bird to the one from 3 weeks ago
this bird was at Nordre Øyeren yesterday and is a 1st winter
Nordre Øyeren had little in the way of water birds so I photographed passerines instead. Here a Goldcrest (fuglekonge)
and a Lesser Redpoll (brunsisik) which as of today's date is counted as a species in eBird but will disappear in the big redpoll lump before the end of the year
Marsh Tit (lovmeis) - a species that remains a rarity in Oslo despite occuring just over the county line and one I am missing in Oslo this year but which has been reported
