It’s all getting a bit too busy for blogging! The end of April is always my favourite time and at the moment it is the movement of Teal and other dabbling ducks that is occupying me with the never-ending searching for something rare in their midst. Yesterday I was at Nordre Øyeren. At this time […]
Tag: norway
POLL: Should Norway be sanctioned for boosting its whaling quota?
Norway has announced a 28% increase of its annual whaling quota to 1,278 whales in a bid to revive the declining hunt amid international controversy. Whalers have for several years failed to meet the quotas set by Oslo and the number of whaling boats has plunged. “I hope the quota and the merging of fishing […]
Finally in the (Norwegian) bag – White-backed Pecker
Before today White-backed Woodpecker was one of three species of regular breeder on the Norwegian mainland that I had not seen in Norway with the other 2 being Stonechat and Leaches Petrel. Norway has a very important population of White-backed Pecker but these birds are all in the west of Norway and have eluded me […]
More than 100 reindeer killed by freight trains in Norway ‘bloodbath’
More than 100 reindeer have been killed by freight trains in northern Norway in the past days in what has been called a senseless tragedy. One train killed 65 deer on a track on Saturday while 41 died between Wednesday and Friday, the public broadcaster NRK reported late on Sunday. “I’m so angry that I’m […]
Breeding Black Redstarts
My posts all refer to the previous day at the moment – a good sign as I am obviously being kept busy. I am really knackered by long trips and survey work so had no big ambitions for yesterday (and left early for Hedmark this morning). I ended up cycling into town to see if […]
Rare footage helps explain what Narwhals use their tusks for
Scientists are marveling over never-before-seen footage of narwhals that has brought to light new evidence for what those unicorn-like tusks are actually used for. Narwhals are toothed whales who live in the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia, but they don’t actually have any teeth in their mouth. Instead, the males grow a […]
POLL: Should Norway stop the annual slaughter of whales?
In just a few days, Norway will start up a horrific annual tradition — the ruthless slaughter of hundreds of whales. But we’ve got a strategy to say ‘NO WAY!’ Whales are awe-inspiring, beautiful beings. We now know they communicate with each other in song, and experience human-like emotions. But in Norway, every year these […]
Some eye candy and a polar brute
After yesterday’s fiasco I had to do penance to both the environment and my body and hope to regain some credit with the Bird Gods. As I had a lunchtime appointment in town with some nice cheese (courtesy of Egil Ween, one of Norway’s top birders, Værøy regular and importer of exclusive foods) it was […]
Norway reprieves 32 of 47 wolves earmarked for cull
The Norwegian government has issued a last-minute reprieve for 32 of the 47 wolves that had been earmarked for a cull to protect sheep flocks. The plans to kill two-thirds of the country’s wolves caused outrage among conservationists at home and abroad when they were announced by local predator management boards in September, with warnings […]
Pintail on ice
A new day and a new weather system. Overnight rain, clouds and a fresh southerly wind were not the best birding conditions and wasn’t eve sure I would bother but eventually decided that it might be worth checking the sea off Fornebu. Not much to write down in the notebook here except for a few […]
