No one mistakes the wading bird with its red leg, red bill and characteristic sound. But when it is seen at 71 degrees north as early as 14 February, one is left in awe. Eirik Hargaut had just arrived at work at the shop in Måsøy when the sign of spring appeared a month earlier than he has ever seen it. – Suddenly it came howling and passed. It is early. They say it will be at Loppasanden on March 21, says Hargaut to news. – It is completely unusual, confirms Jan Erik Røer in Birdlife Norway. – There may be a few very few observations, but normally there are no tents in Finnmark in winter. Species Observations is the website where birders report their findings. Only once before has a rookery been reported in Finnmark in February, but then on the last day of the month: A flock of eight birds roosted in Indre Repparfjord in 2020. In Troms there are six recorded finds from February. The dog biscuit is already in the process of firing its first shots at Måsøya. Eirik Hargaut took the picture on 16 February. Photo: Eirik Hargaut Snow-free and green Tjelden is not the only thing special about nature on Måsøya at the moment. – I am 65 years old, but I have never experienced such a winter. It is strange everything that is happening now, says Hargaut. – The dog biscuit is sprouting. There are gray thrushes, black thrushes and snow sparrows on the island. Silanda arrived at the end of January, a few pairs. So everything is early. – There is no snow here, just a little in the mountains. But that’s okay, I don’t need snow. We can only hope that it doesn’t start to sprout too much, says the seagull, who reports three plus degrees today. Miserable skiing on Måsøya in Finnmark at the moment. Photo: Eirik Hargaut Trekker card Bird expert Jan Erik Røer does not think the tern lives dangerously, even though it is early in place in Finnmark. – It can go just fine. The tent is a robust type. It likes to go in the shore and preferably where there are some mudbanks that are exposed on the shore. There it finds shellfish such as mussels and so on. The large tidal differences in the north help to keep food available. On Måsøya, there are close to three meters between the highest and lowest water levels. – If it is not iced, they come to the food twice a day. And the tent is pretty tough. It tolerates cold well as long as it gets to its food. Jan Erik Røer believes the tent has a good chance of surviving the rest of the winter in Finnmark. Tempted by mild weather Although the tern is a migratory bird, it is not among those that migrate far. Just across the North Sea, it finds fine winter conditions in the Wadden Sea and Great Britain. – Then they move north in March–April, says Jan Erik Røer. – But there is a slight tendency for them to sit down there and think: “Now it was spring, now there are some son winds. Maybe I should try to see what it’s like up north?” Then you can leave. Røer says the tjelden may appear further south in February if the weather is mild and the winds are mild. In addition, there are a few hundred tents that winter in Norway, most of them in Verdal in Trøndelag.
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The dog biscuit is sprouting and the tent has arrived – news Troms and Finnmark
