Bird postcard Swap

Thanks to Shirley via Swap-Bot for the Red Cardinal bird :)

Sent: 7 June 2016   Received:20 June 2016   Travelled: 13 days

Ukraine pigeon

A lovely card with matching Pigeon stamp, thanks to

Oleksandr via Postcrossing for the card.

Sent: 14 May 2016   Received: 26 May 2016   Travelled: 12 days

British Indian Ocean Territory

The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islands – many very small – amounting to a total land area of 60 square kilometres.

The largest and most southerly island is Diego Garcia, 44 km2, the site of a joint military facility of the United Kingdom and the United States. Following the eviction of the native population, the Chagossians, in the 1960s and '70s, the only inhabitants are US and British military personnel and associated contractors, who collectively number around 4,000 (2004 figures). The islands are off-limits to casual tourists, the media, and their former inhabitants.

Mauritius sought to resume control over the Chagos Archipelago which was split from its territory by the UK in 1965 to form the British Indian Ocean Territory. Between 1968 and 1973, the Chagossians, then numbering about 2,000 people, were expelled by the British government to Mauritius and Seychelles to allow the United States to establish a military base on the island. Today, the exiled Chagossians are still trying to return, claiming that the forced expulsion and dispossession was illegal.

British Indian Ocean Territory is one of only two British territories that drives automobiles on the right side of the road, the other being Gibraltar. This has been said to be because the territory was previously occupied by the French, but France ceded the islands to the UK long before the invention of the automobile.
Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Edwin for the lovely bird from the

British Indian Ocean Territory!

Sent: 30 August 2014    Received: 10 September 2014    

Travelled: 11 days (sent in envelope from Bahrain)

Dreaming

Photo by Sergey Demin

Thanks to Nataly for this beautiful reflection view from Russia

Sent: 31 December 2015   Received: 22 January 2016   Travelled: 22 days

Kookaburra

Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus Dacelo native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between 28–42 cm (11–17 in) in length. The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri guuguubarra, onomatopoeic of its call. The single member of the genus Clytoceyx is commonly referred to as the shovel-billed kookaburra.

The kookaburra's loud call sounds like echoing human laughter. They are found in habitats ranging from humid forest to arid savanna, as well as in suburban areas with tall trees or near running water. Even though they belong to the larger group known as "kingfishers", kookaburras are not closely associated with water.
Kookaburras are almost exclusively carnivorous, eating mice, snakes, insects, small reptiles, and the young of other birds; they have also been known to take goldfish from garden ponds. In zoos they are usually fed food for birds of prey.

The most social birds will accept handouts and will take meat from barbecues. It is generally not advised to feed kookaburras ground beef or pet food as these do not include enough calcium and roughage.

They are territorial, except for the rufous-bellied, which often live with their young from the previous season. They often sing as a chorus to mark their territory.
Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Melanie via swap-bot for this beautiful Kookaburra card.

I had an Australian teacher in my elementary school so she taught us

the Kookaburra song :)

Received: 18 November 2015

Great white Pelicans

Thanks to Marius for this great postcard. I enjoy so much your beautiful

photography!

Sent: 27 July 2015   Received: 27 August 2015   Travelled: 7 days

Rwanda birds

The avifauna of Rwanda! Seems like a couple of bird postcards arrived to my mailbox

today. Thanks to Chris for this beautiful postcard of birds.

Sent: 26 February 2015   Received: 25 March 2015   Travelled: 27 days

Stourhead, Wiltshire

Stourhead is a 1,072-hectare estate at the source of the River Stour near Mere, Wiltshire, England. The estate includes a Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, gardens, farmland, and woodland. Stourhead has been in the ownership of the National Trust since 1946.

Thanks to Tom for this lovely postcard with a little plump robin and the

matching illustration :D

Sent: 14 March 2015    Received: 25 March 2015   Travelled: 11 days

Dodo bird

As no complete dodo specimens exist, its external appearance, such as plumage and colouration, is hard to determine.Illustrations and written accounts of encounters with the dodo between its discovery and its extinction (1598–1662) are the primary evidence for its external appearance. According to most representations, the dodo had greyish or brownish plumage, with lighter primary feathers and a tuft of curly light feathers high on its rear end. The head was grey and naked, the beak green, black and yellow, and the legs were stout and yellowish, with black claws. The bird was sexually dimorphic: males were larger and had proportionally longer beaks. The beak was up to 23 centimetres (9.1 in) in length and had a hooked point

Yay another dodo bird postcard, a huge surprise in my mailbox when I received

6 postcards individually stamped and written, a parting gift from Angela's time 

in Mauritius.

Sent: 11 November 2014   Received: 25 November 2014   Travelled: 14 days

Lundy Island

The name Lundy is believed to come from the old Norse word for "puffin island" (Lundey), lundi being the Norse word for a puffin and ey, an island, although an alternative explanation has been suggested with Lund referring to a copse, or wooded area. According to genealogist Edward MacLysaght the surname Lundy is from Norman de la Lounde, a name recorded in medieval documents in counties Tipperary and Kilkenny in Ireland.

Wow! a great Puffin card from Lundy Island. I seem to also have quite a Puffin flock 

growing in my postal collection! Also very interesting to note the private stamps of Lundy Island which features its namesake. A little disappointed that this postcard seems to have missed

getting a postmark but on another note, I have mint Lundy and Puffin stamps ;)  Thanks Tom!

Sent: 14 January 2015   Received: 23 January 2015   Travelled: 9 days

Bald eagle

The bald eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.

Bald eagles are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of "white headed". The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males. The beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown.

The bald eagle is both the national bird and national animal of the United States of America. The bald eagle appears on its Seal. In the late 20th century it was on the brink of extirpation in the continental United States. Populations recovered and the species was removed from the U.S. federal government's list of endangered species on July 12, 1995 and transferred to the list of threatened species. It was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the Lower 48 States on June 28, 2007.

It's great news for nature  wherethe Bald Eagle's population has recovered and

is no longer threatened. Thank you Nathan for this card from home ground!

Sent: 13 December 2014   Received: 5 January 2015   Travelled: 23 days

Nicobar Megapode

The Nicobar megapode or Nicobar scrubfowl (Megapodius nicobariensis) is a megapode found in some of the Nicobar Islands (India). Like other megapodes relatives, it builds a large mound nest with soil and vegetation, with the eggs hatched by the heat produced by decomposition. Newly hatched chicks climb out of the loose soil of the mound and being fully feathered are capable of flight. The Nicobar Islands are on the edge of the distribution of megapodes, well separated from the nearest ranges of other megapode species. Being restricted to small islands and threatened by hunting, the species is vulnerable to extinction. The 2004 tsunami is believed to have wiped out populations on some islands and reduced populations on several others.

Thank you Neil for this card of a very rare bird from Nicobar.

Sent: 13 November 2014   Received: 9 December 2014   Travelled: 26 days

Belize Toucan

 

Belize's colourful ambassador to the world, the Toucan

The colorful and large bill, which in some large species measures more than half the length of the body, is the hallmark of toucans. Despite its size, the toucan's bill is very light, being composed of bone struts filled with spongy tissue of keratin between them. The bill has forward-facing serrations resembling teeth, which historically led naturalists to believe that toucans captured fish and were primarily carnivorous; today it is known that they eat mostly fruit.

Thank you again Lando for this colourful bird!

Sent: 30 May 2014   Received: 20 June 2014   Travelled: 21 days

Bahamas

 

 

Today's Valentine's day and I get a pair of pink flamigos, how neat is that!? :)

Thank you Niiki for the card!

 

Sent: 21 January 2014

Received: 14 February 2014

Travelled: 24 days

The dodo

The first recorded mention of the Dodo was by Dutch sailors in 1598. In the following years, the bird was hunted by sailors, their domesticated animals, and invasive species introduced during that time. The last widely accepted sighting of a Dodo was in 1662. Its extinction was not immediately noticed, and some considered it to be a mythical creature. In the 19th century, research was conducted on a small quantity of remains of four specimens that had been brought to Europe in the early 17th century. Among these is a dried head, the only soft tissue of the Dodo that remains today. Since then, a large amount of subfossil material has been collected from Mauritius, mostly from the Mare aux Songes swamp. The extinction of the Dodo within less than a century of its discovery called attention to the previously unrecognised problem of human involvement in the disappearance of entire species. The Dodo achieved widespread recognition from its role in the story of Alice in Wonderland, and it has since become a fixture in popular culture, often as a symbol of extinction and obsolescence. It is frequently used as a mascot on Mauritius.

The first time I read about the dodo, I was a small kid reading children's encyclopedia. I get sad about the disappearance of a harmless bird and how an entire species can be gone within a century. People back then didn't know about their impact on the ecosystem and even to this day, locals in remote areas hunt wildlife for their living. People's needs will always trump the animals right to land.

Thank you Tasneem for this wonderful card of the dodo!

Sent: 13 January 2014
Received: 23 January 2014
Travelling: 10 days

Puffins, Norway

Gunnar Wangen

Puffins are any of three small species of alcids (auks) in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil. Two species, the Tufted Puffin and Horned Puffin, are found in the North Pacific Ocean, while the Atlantic Puffin is found in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Thanks Jo for another great addition to my bird and Norway album :)

Check out Gunnar's photography at www.naturfotografen.no

Sent: 15 November 2013

Received: 27 November 2013

Travelled: 12 days

Birds of NZ

Back of card:

Wood Pigeon - This beautiful plumaged bird once formed a staple item of early Maori food.

Bellbird - So named because of its bell like call

Kea - A New Zealand Mountain Parrot which lives above the forest line and is well known by trampers for its comical antics and inquisitive nature.

Kiwi - New Zealand's national bird, the flightless Kiwi is seldom seen in daylight, preferring to forage for its food at night in the dense forst.

Tui - One of the finest songsters in The New Zealand forests. Identified by the white feathers at its throat.

Thank you Cindy for this interesting card, the Kiwi seems at a lost on what to do with its egg :p

Sent: 20 October 2013
Received: 7 November 2013
Travelled: 18 days

Costa Rica

 

 

Tucan from Costa Rica!

Thank you Maria for this beautiful bird :D



Sent : 29 January 2013

White Kiwi

A White Kiwi is extremely rare and almost never seen in captivity. But they are occasionally seen in the wild - where this bird was photographed. It is an albino form of a normal Brown Kiwi.

 

Thank you Aaron for this beautiful card!

Sent:21 February 2013

Pink Flamingo or so I thought!

My very first card from the Caribbean, a Scarlet Ibis from Trinidad and Tobago.

Thank you David for this lovely card from T&T!



Sent: 20 December 2012
Received: 25 January 2013
Travelled: 36 days