Berchtesgaden National Park

Berchtesgaden National Park (貝希特斯加登國家公園)
Germany (2013)
1st July, 2013. Bonn

Berchtesgaden National Park is in the south of Germany, on its border with Austria, in the municipalities of Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden and Schönau am Königsee, Berchtesgadener Land, Free State of Bavaria. The national park was established in 1978 to protect the landscapes of the Berchtesgaden Alps. Headquartered in the town of Berchtesgaden, the park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1990.

The first day postmark illustrated Griffon Vulture (黑白禿鷲) which is one of ordinary bird of prey to be found in the national park.

Owls of Taiwan (3)

From left to right :
NT$5 : Collared Scops Owl (領角鴞) ; NT$10 : Tawny Fish Owl (黃魚鴞)
NT$25 : Ryukyu Scops Owl (蘭嶼角鴞) ; NT$5 : Eastern Grass Owl (東方草鴞)
Taiwan (2013)
18th July, 2013. Lanyu

After releasing “Owls of Taiwan” stamp sets in 2011 and 2012, Taiwan is following up with last set of four stamps in 2013 featuring 4 owls, 12 owls have been shown while 13 owls was discovered in whole islands.

Specially with Ryukyu Scops Owl, it only to be found on Orchid Island, which is off the East Coast of Taiwan proper. It has a brown facial disc and ear tufts. Its head and upper body feathers are brown with dark brown and tan stripes. Its breast and belly feathers are tawny. It lives mainly in forests.

  

NT$5 : Collared Scops Owl (領角鴞)
 NT$25 : Ryukyu Scops Owl (蘭嶼角鴞) 
Taiwan (2013)
26th June, 2013. Postal Museum, Taipei

26th June, 2013. Taitung

  

NT$10 : Tawny Fish Owl (黃魚鴞)

NT$5 : Eastern Grass Owl (東方草鴞)
Taiwan (2013)

26th June, 2013. Nantou

26th June, 2013. Pingtung

Récifs d'Entrecasteaux

From top to bottom :
110F : Austropacific Masked Booby (藍臉鰹鳥/西太平洋亞種)
150F : Eastern Reef Heron (太平洋岩鷺)
New Caledonia (2013, 2012)
31st May, 2013. Noumea (Philatelic Office)

Récifs d'Entrecasteaux are coral outcropping northwest of New Caledonia, uninhabited. Are located at 180 km from the north-western tip of Grande Terre, in line with Belep Islands which are separated by the "Grand Passage" Strait of 500 to 600meters deep. They form the northern boundary of the lagoon of the archipelago of New Caledonia.

The Récifs d'Entrecasteaux have an important seabird area, and as such is listed as important area for bird conservation by BirdLife International. The most sedentary species are represented, for example, the Great Frigatebird and Lesser Frigatebird, Austropacific Masked Booby, Brown Booby and Red-footed Booby. It is also an important nesting site for several species of terns : Crested Tern or Sooty Tern, representing approximately 1% of the world population.

Falcoaria

From left to right :
I 20g : Golden Eagle (金雕) ; E 20g : Eurasian Sparrowhawk (北雀鷹)
A 20g : Northern Goshawk (蒼鷹) ; N 20g : Peregrine Falcon (擬游隼)
Portugal (2013)
23rd March, 2013. Salvaterra de Magos

Falconry is the hunting of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer (German origin) flies a hawk (Accipiter and some buteos and similar) or an eagle (Aquila or similar). In modern falconry the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) and the Harris hawk are often used. The words "hawking" and "hawker" have become used so much to mean petty traveling traders, that the terms "falconer" and "falconry" now apply to all use of trained birds of prey to catch game.

In early English falconry literature, the word "falcon" referred to a female falcon only, while the word "hawk" or "hawke" referred to a female hawk. A male hawk or falcon was referred to as a "tiercel" (sometimes spelled "tercel") as it was roughly one third less than the female in size. Many contemporary practitioners still use these words in their original meaning. The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird is also called "hawking" or "gamehawking".

White Stork in Switzerland

White Stork (白鸛)
Switzerland (2013)
7th May, 2013. Bern

In 1949, Switzerland’s white stork population disappeared, leaving a landscape totally devoid of bill clattering. Max Bloesch (1908–97), known as the “Father of the Storks”, successfully reintroduced these long-legged birds to Altreu (Canton Solothurn). Today, some 300 breeding pairs circle the skies between the plain of the River Orbe and Canton St. Gallen’s Rhine Valley.

These two first day covers and maxicards are feature the postmark of Bern and Selach. Where are the official first day cancellation and the reintroduced place of White Storks. And the last, a pair of cover and maxicard feature postmark of Brittnau, which the postmark illustrated a pair of White Stork.

It is the 500th post of Philatelic of birds, after 5 years of its open.

White Stork (白鸛)
Switzerland (2013)
7th May, 2013. Selach

White Stork (白鸛)

Switzerland (2013)

7th May, 2013. Bern / Selach

White Stork (白鸛)

Switzerland (2013)

5th July, 2013. Brittnau

Papyrus Gonolek

Papyrus Gonolek (穆富氏黑伯勞)
Burundi (2011)
11th June, 2013. Bujumbura

Papyrus Gonolek is a species of bird in the Malaconotidae family. It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. It has specialised habitat requirements, being restricted to papyrus swamps. Not yet a threatened species, it has become rare due to habitat loss and pollution.

The cover is the last of WWF 50th anniversary series, total are 11 covers collected.