⭕️100 years Swiss National Park

Golden Eagle (金雕)
Switzerland (2014)
6th March, 2014. Zernez

100 years ago, the Swiss National Park (SNP) was established by a group of visionaries, laying the foundations for a unique, natural oasis. Today, their original idea – namely leaving natural processes untouched and documenting the many and varied changes – is more relevant than ever. To mark its centenary, the National Park is offering its visitors a varied programme of centenary events.
 

In its centenary year, the SNP is staging a varied programme of events. It has chosen 27 March 2014 for the national launch – 100 years to the day since the Swiss parliament voted to esta- blish the park. On 1 August 2014, Swiss television channel SRF will be broadcasting the main celebration live from Zernez. From 11 July to 16 August, Zernez will also be hosting 16 performances for locals and visitors of the anniversary open-air spectacle “LAINA VIA – the phenomenal story of the Swiss National Park”. LAINA VIVA will bring drama, humour, romance, music and lots of movement to the stage and will be an unmissable spectacle! From March to October, the SNP is going on a nationwide tour to the 16 biggest Coop shopping centres, to present nature where it is least expected. The anniversary exhibition in the National Park Centre is dedicated to special gures from the SNP’s 100-year history. The centenary will also be marked by various publications, including the Atlas of the Swiss National Park.

Golden Eagle (金雕)
Switzerland (2014)
6th March, 2014. Zernez

Floodplain in the Lower Oder Valley

White Stork (白鸛)
Germany (2014)
12th February, 2014. Mühlau

The Lower Oder Valley International Park is a shared German-Polish nature reserve. It comprises the western banks of the Oder river within the Uckermark district in the German state of Brandenburg as well as the steep eastern banks in the Gryfino and Police counties of the Polish West Pomeranian Voivodeship further north.

The German part of the core area is the Nationalpark Unteres Odertal (Lower Oder Valley National Park). There is an information centre at Criewen. The Polish part of the core area is the Park Krajobrazowy Dolina Dolnej Odry (Lower Odra Valley Landscape Park). The area comprises 165 km2 (64 sq mi) (Germany 105 km2 (41 sq mi), Poland 60 km2 (23 sq mi)); together with adjoining nature reserves in Germany and Poland the total area is 1,172 km2 (453 sq mi). By decision of the German-Polish Environmental Council in 1992 the German, Polish and Brandenburg environment ministers as well as the voivode of Szczecin created the Lower Oder Valley International Park.

⭕️White-tailed Eagle

White-tailed Eagle (白尾鷲)
Iceland (2014)
16th January, 2014. Reykjavík

The White-tailed Eagle is the largest bird in Iceland and among the rarest breeding birds in the country. The late 19th century saw a dramatic decline in the number of breeding pairs due to organised persecution. Until 1905, rewards were offered for shooting the eagle in Iceland. Since Januar 1st 1914, the year Iceland gained Homerule, the eagle has been strictly protected. In the last thirty to forty years, the population has tripled, but the eagle is still on the list of endangered species. The Icelandic eagle is genetically different from other stocks except the Greenland one. In the past eagles bred all over the country, but its habitat in Iceland i s now largely confined to Breiðafjörður and the West Fjords.

Swinhoe’s Pheasant

Swinhoe’s Pheasant (藍腹鷳)
Taiwan (2014)
20th February, 2014. Sanchong

The Swinhoe’s pheasant is a member of the Phasianidae family and is a protected species endemic to Taiwan. A quick and nimble bird, it inhabits the floor of broadleaf forests between 300 and 2,300 meters in elevation. This pheasant has a small population in a limited range which is shrinking due to habitat degradation. Logging is a problem. Some populations are secure within protected areas, but others may be declining. It was hunted in the past and some populations were extirpated in the 1960s and 1970's. Today its global population is estimated to be over 10,000 individuals.

Swinhoe’s Pheasant (藍腹鷳)
Taiwan (2014)
14th March, 2014. Maolin

Swinhoe’s Pheasant (藍腹鷳)
Taiwan (2014)
14th March, 2014. Heping District, Taichung

Antarctic food web

Adelie Penguin (阿德利企鵝)
Ross Dependency (2013)
14th February, 2014. Christchurch

This issue highlights one of the marvels of Antarctica: its ‘food web’, which enables a vast array of wildlife to find the sustenance they need to survive. The key to its success – and the element that enables every one of these animals to endure – is a tiny, delicately pink crustacean called krill.

The Adélie penguin – named in 1840 by French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville after his wife, Adélie – is one of only two species found on the Antarctic mainland; the other is the much larger emperor penguin. Easily recognised with its blue-black back and white chest and belly, the Adélie is a highly efficient hunter, with flippers that enable it to dive to depths of 175 metres in search of food.

One of only three bird species that breed exclusively in Antarctica, and the only one of its kind with pure white plumage, the snow petrel grows to about 40 centimetres long and can live for up to 20 years. The name ‘petrel’ derives from the story of Peter the Apostle and his walking on water – a reflection of the bird’s appearing to run on the water to take off.

Left : Lesser Snow Petrel (雪鸌) ; Right : Adelie Penguin (阿德利企鵝)
Ross Dependency (2013)
14th February, 2014. Christchurch

⭕️Velvet Scoter

Velvet Scoter (斑臉海番鴨)
Åland (2014)
7th February, 2014. Mariehamn

Velvet Scoter also called a Velvet Duck, is a large sea duck, which breeds over the far north of Europe and Asia west of the Yenisey basin. A small, isolated population nests in eastern Turkey. The East Siberian and North American White-winged Scoter is sometimes considered conspecific with the Velvet Scoter, and its two constituent subspecies are then known as M. f. stejnegeri and M. f. deglandi. Velvet and White-winged Scoter, along with the Surf Scoter, are placed in the subgenus Melanitta, distinct from the subgenus Oidemia, Black and Common Scoters.

It winters further south in temperate zones, Europe as far south as Great Britain, and on the Black and Caspian Sea. Small numbers reach France and northern Spain. It forms large flocks on suitable coastal waters. These are tightly packed, and the birds tend to take off together.

⭕️Overprinted

Little Owl (縱紋腹小鴞)
Gibraltar (2013)
2nd November, 2013. Gibraltar

An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage stamp, banknote or postal stationery after printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but these have also been employed in the past for public mail. Gibraltar’s last overprinted stamp was released in 1991 when the 1987 Definitive Guns with the original value of £3 was overprinted with a £1.05 value. Due to the fact that new postal rates are being introduced in Gibraltar with the latest Christmas stamps, the Post Office required two additional values, a 14p and 28p.

From left to right :
£2,00 : Pallid Swift (蒼雨燕) ; 10p : Black Stork (黑鸛)
28p : Eurasian Eagle-Owl (鵰鴞) ; 14p : Little Owl (縱紋腹小鴞)
Gibraltar (2009, 2012, 2013)
27th January, 2014. Gibraltar

Inclusive arts

Purple-tailed Imperial Pigeon (紫尾皇鳩)
Hong-Kong (2013)
15th October, 2013. Hong-Kong
29th October, 2013. Artsakh

Purple-tailed Imperial Pigeon has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion. The population of Purple-tailed Imperial Pigeon trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion. The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion . For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

⭕️Birds of the Alps

From left to right :
Tengmalm's Owl (鬼鴞) ; Capercaillie (松雞) ; Grey-faced Woodpecker (灰頭綠啄木鳥)
Lammergeier (胡兀鷲) ; Rock Ptarmigan (岩雷鳥)
Italy (2013)
4th December, 2013. Feltre, Belluno

Thanks to my friend of this surprise, he sent me this cover on day of issue. After more than 18 years Italy Post Office released a set of birds again on last year, it looks beautiful, five stamps illustrated different species which mainly live in Alps, the northern part of Italy. The Alps divided Europe into two parts, southern Europe is mostly in warm and sunny weather, while rainy and cool in winter, thus there provides enough food and suitable to migratory birds for middle stop.

Rock Ptarmigan (岩雷鳥)
Italy (2013)
4th December, 2013. Feltre, Belluno

Capercaillie (松雞)
Italy (2013)
4th December, 2013. Spiazzo, Trentino

Seabirds of São Tomé e Príncipe

Top : Comb Duck (瘤鴨) ; Brown Booby (白腹鰹鳥) ; Cape Gannet (南非鰹鳥)
Bottom : Brown Booby (白腹鰹鳥) ; Cape Gannet (南非鰹鳥) ;
Fulvous Whistling-duck (草黃樹鴨)
São Tomé e Príncipe (2013)
1st November, 2013. Central

Sadly, the cover did not send by registered mail due to not enough postage, however it seems nicer than last cover, the Congo Grey Parrot. In recent years, São Tomé e Príncipe issues be positioning as commercial stamps by some collector due to their issues mostly not be used in postal system. By the way in my opinion some issues still collectable to theme collectors, if the stamps related to the country.

These 4 seabird species are commonly live in Atlantic Ocean, they of course reasonable to be found in São Tomé e Príncipe, the small island country near Equator of Atlantic Ocean.