Cendrawasih, Indonesia

Cendrawasih is more commonly known as Bird-Of-Paradise, and is native to the island of New Guinea - western half of which is known as Papua and is part of the Republic of Indonesia. Birds are fascinating creatures and I am contemplating a new collection...native bird species. 

Thank you Arry for this card; great stamps too! I have noticed less people from Indonesia swapping postcards these days...possibly a remnant of the previous restrictions..?

Swans In The Reeds At Dawn

This is an oil painting by Caspar David Friedrich, perhaps the most important German artist of his generation; the year is anything from 1819 to 1932 (different sources different data, even for the title of the painting). You can find it in the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, and is actually rather small, 33x44 cm.

As I love visiting museums I was surprised on quite a few occassions with the actual size of the paintings, be it awesomely large (Rubens) or small (Mona Lisa). Thank you Gesa for this beautiful atmospheric image :)

Swan From Finland

Swan is Finland's national bird...The stamp is not as graceful though lol. It is an illustration for a car company from 1907, it seems to be a 'modern' take on a Kalevala folk story - the snatching of Kyllikki. Thanks goes to Sari :)

Saskatchewan, Canada

And the news is...not news at all dear raven, just living day by day and dreaming of better days; and one of the dreams sees me visiting this fascinating country, Canada. Saskatchewan is one of its ten provinces, nestled between Alberta on the west and Manitoba on the east. The capital is Regina and the biggest city Saskatoon (fun names). These cards are from a dear postcrossing friend Brenda, who now lives in the westernmost British Columbia. Very appreciative of the various animal stamps..!

(Puffin) Iceland Flag

Iceland (and Scotland) were definitely the highlights of the 2nd contract. First stop Reykjavik - a puffin tour! Boating around nearby islands, we didn't come too near the coast but you could spot them in the air flying around with fish in their beaks. Again I didn't have a zoom lens...I do own a decent pocket camera but...I left it on board?! I am so silly sometimes. Nevermind, here are the superfriendly cats of Iceland (told ya!). (One for each port: Reykjavik, Ísafjörður and Akureyri)

The Magnificent Frigatebird, Barbuda

The magnificent frigatebird is a large, lightly built seabird with brownish-black plumage, long narrow wings and a deeply forked tail. The male has a striking red gular sac which it inflates to attract a mate. The female is slightly larger than the male and has a white breast and belly. Frigatebirds feed on fish taken in flight from the ocean's surface (often flying fish), and sometimes indulge in kleptoparasitism, harassing other birds to force them to regurgitate their food.

The magnificent frigatebird is widespread in the tropical Atlantic, breeding colonially in trees in Florida, the Caribbean and also along the Pacific coast of the Americas from Mexico to Ecuador, including the Galápagos Islands. It has occurred as a vagrant as far from its normal range as the Isle of Man, Denmark, Spain, England, and British Columbia.

Bohemian Waxwing

The Bohemian waxwing is...a bird i never heard of before! Looking up a Croatian name, never heard of that one either. Beautiful creature...It has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in northern regions of Eurasia and North America. Its breeding habitat is coniferous forests, usually near water. This waxwing is migratory with much of the breeding range abandoned as the birds move south for the winter. Alas this 'south' just about misses my country...which is a shame, because they can be very tame in winter, entering towns and gardens in search of food (rowan berries being a particular favourite, again not native here so that explains them not wanting to fly here!)

White Storks (And A Local Story)

Another one in the series of Fauna of Belarus, showing White Storks. As they are migratory birds, they would have arrived from the Sub-Saharan Africa by now, nesting and having chicks. Thank you Liudmila for this card and lovely stamp :)

This has reminded me of a popular story in my country, about a pair of storks called Klepetan and Malena. Malena is a madame stork who (for 24 years now) hasn't been able to fly south because of a broken wing. Beginning of a sad story? One may think... But she has found true love in Klepetan, who comes back to her every year to the same spot! With a great help from a kind Sir Stjepan Vokić (who happens to live in the same village in the north of Croatia where my mum comes from :)) Malena is able to survive the winter and take care of the young ones. Each year (for 14 years now) the whole country is waiting for Klepetan to return to his Malena - it is usually on the same date, but this year he was 6 days late. Everyone was worried..! But in the end he made it, tired but happy :) 

Birds In Brittany

These are the lovely birds you are likely to see on the European Atlantic coast - Northern gannet, Atlantic puffin and (this was hidden by a stamp but I hope I am right) common guillemot. Thank you Sylvie :)

Sooty Albatros, South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands

Thanks to Ruben who arranged this card for me, the beautiful albatros (apparently flying over South Georgia Islands heh :)) Sent from King Edward Point research station, de facto the capital of the islands. Last reported estimated population was 30. 

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) is a British overseas territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands known as the South Sandwich Islands. South Georgia is 165 km long and 1 to 35 km wide, and is by far the largest island in the territory. The South Sandwich Islands lie about 700 km southeast of South Georgia.

There is no native population on the islands; the present inhabitants are the British Government Officer, Deputy Postmaster, scientists, and support staff from the British Antarctic Survey who maintain scientific bases at Bird Island and at the capital, King Edward Point, as well as museum staff at nearby Grytviken.

Postmaster you say..?! I have been reading about the postmistress vacancy on Antarctica, now this sounds interesting too :)

The light-mantled sooty albatross is a small albatross in the genus Phoebetria; it breeds on several subantarctic islands,  has a loud shrill voice that is trumpet-like, and feeds mostly on  of squid and krill. 

Iceland Puffins

Here are my darling puffins again! This time a bit more about them - The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin, are found in the northeastern Pacific. The Atlantic puffin breeds in Iceland, Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland and many North Atlantic islands, and as far south as Maine in the west and the British Isles in the east.

Spending the autumn and winter in the open ocean of the cold northern seas, the Atlantic puffin returns to coastal areas at the start of the breeding season in late spring. It nests in clifftop colonies, digging a burrow in which a single white egg is laid. The chick mostly feeds on whole fish and grows rapidly. After about six weeks it is fully fledged and makes its way at night to the sea. It swims away from the shore and does not return to land for several years.

Amazing creatures aren't they? Many thanks to Marko :)

Endemic Mauritius

Mauritius is located in the Indian Ocean to the east of Madagascar. Due to its isolation, it has a relatively low diversity of wildlife; however, a high proportion of these are endemic species occurring nowhere else in the world. Many of these are now threatened with extinction because of human activities including habitat destruction and the introduction of non-native species. Some have already become extinct, most famously the dodo which disappeared in the 17th century.

This postcard shows some of those wonderful endemic species that are critically endangered - Pink Pigeon. Day Gecko, Mauritius Kestrel, Echo Parakeet, Fody and Mauritius Olive White-Eye. Always a sad story...I mean look at that gorgeous colourful gecko, or tiny bird on human's fingertips...

Conservation work in Mauritius is carried out by the National Parks and Conservation Service (NPCS) and by non-governmental organizations such as the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT). Efforts to preserve native flora and fauna have included captive breeding, habitat restoration and the eradication of introduced species.

Thank you Xahrah :)

UNESCO - Danube Delta, Romania

The waters of the Danube, which flow into the Black Sea, form the largest and best preserved of Europe's deltas. The Danube delta hosts over 300 species of birds as well as 45 freshwater fish species in its numerous lakes and marshes.

One of those species is the great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), whose wingspan can range from 226 to 360 cm. The pelicans arrive in the Danube in late March or early April and depart after breeding from September to late November.

I simply love these cards! Looks like such an amazing place. Mulțumesc Anca :))

 

GEO - Colourful Bird Chain

They are considered to be the most colourful migratory bird species in Europe and love to gather in warm colonies - the bee-eaters. They spend their winters in warm Africa which is rich with flying insects.

 

 



Today is reserved for the newly acquired GEO postcards that, as usual, brought a smile to my face :))

At first glance I thought this was a caterpillar heh

 

Red-Crowned Crane, Japan

This beautiful graceful bird is red-crowned or Japanese crane, known as a symbol of luck, longevity and fidelity. It is among the rarest cranes in the world, with the estimated total population of only 2750 in the wild. A resident population is found in eastern Hokkaidō in Japan, where this postcards was sent from - with a matching stamp, thanks Chami :))

 

Native Birds Of New Zealand

These beauties are as follows...Tui, one of the finest songsters in New Zealand; Bellbird, so named because of its bell-like call; Wood Pigeon, which once formed a staple item of early Maori food; Kea, well known by trampers for its comical antics and inquisitive nature; Kiwi, New Zealand's national bird seldom seen in daylight; and Red Crown Parakeet, normally found on offshore islands living in the native bush.

Thank you Kassie :)

GEO - Flamingos In Flamingo

 'Hundreds of Flamingos gathered at a lake on Mexico's peninsula Yucatan, and accidentally built a gigantic shape of their own species; lucky once-in-the-lifetime shot for the photographer.'

Amazing isn't it? This is the first of today's postcards that I will post related to Sunday Stamps and this week's topic: trees. The second stamp being issued by Deutsche Post in 2012 showing landscape at dusk.

Scottish Wildlife

The wildcat or Tiger Of The Highlands is considered an icon of the Scottish wilderness, ferocious and untameable. The cute puffins at the Duncansby Head, the most north-easterly part of the Scottish Mainland. And the mighty osprey hunting. 

Yasuni-Itt Postcards

 

Yasuni National Park in Ecuador, about 250 km from Quito, was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1989. It is within the claimed ancestral territory of the Huaorani indigenous people. It is arguably the most biologically diverse spot on Earth.

Yasuni-ITT Initiative is a proposal by the government of Ecuador to refrain indefinitely from exploiting the oil reserves of the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oil field within the Yasuni National Park, in exchange for 50% of the value of the reserves. The rationale is to conserve biodiversity, protect indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation, and avoid CO₂ emissions.

These are some of the pre-paid postcard issued to support the ITT initiative, showing examples of that unique biodiversity. The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) I already have in my collection and on the blog :) A newcomer to my lizard collection is the Tropical Thornytail Iguana or Amazon Thornytail Iguana (Uracentron flaviceps) an elusive species of medium sized arboreal lizard found in the tropical lowlands of the Amazon Rainforest. Cute :)