Many of my friends posted pictures of the first signs of spring during the last weeks. The first sprouting flowers, frail butterflies, colourful birds and green nature could be seen on those pictures. And when I looked at those pictures I realised how much I am looking forward to see flowers, birds and green trees again after a long winter season.
The first signs of spring have also arrived in the Finnmark in Norway in April. But these signs aren’t that obvious and colourful like in the southern parts of Europe. The snow on the roadsides loses its pristine white colour and turns into grey and black, the compressed layer of snow on the road turns into watery mud so that you risk getting stuck with your car and my dogs are always dirty after a walk.
On the Langfjord the ice is breaking up and finally I can see my garden bank again.
Weather in April can be quite different. Quite often the sky is cloudy, it is stormy and still snowing and the landscape is a mixture of different shades of grey. On those days it is easy to get the blues and it feels like winter will never end. But there are also other days with beautiful sunshine and you even have to take care not to get sunburned.
And finally the first migrating birds return to the north. Already in the beginning of April I saw snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) at the bird feeder in my garden. But only the male snow buntings arrived. The females will follow a couple of weeks later. Some days later I heard the chirring sound of the Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) from the beach and today I heard the tinny sound of whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus). When I hear the whooper swans for the first time at the end of the winter season, I definitely know that spring is here. But it will still take several weeks before the flowers are coming up and the trees will be green.
