Philatelic of Birds

10 October 2015

⭕️Antarctic Tern

Antarctic Tern (南極燕鷗)

French Australia and Antarctica Territories (2015)
1st January, 2015. Dumont D’Urville

Antarctic Tern is a typical tern. It ranges throughout the southern oceans. It is very similar in appearance to the closely related Arctic tern, but is stockier, and the wing tips are grey instead of blackish in flight. It is, of course, in breeding plumage in the southern summer, when the Arctic tern has moulted to its non-breeding plumage.

Breeding takes place from mid-November to early December. Chicks hatch from December to February. Skuas and jaegers are the primary predators of this bird's eggs and young.

The total global population of this bird is around 140,000 individuals.

3 October 2015

110th anniversary of Naardermeer Nature Reserve

Great Crested Grebe (鳳頭鸊鷉)

The Netherlands (2015)
28th April, 2015. Naarden-Energiestraat

Naardermeer Nature Reserve was the first-ever natural area to be managed by the Dutch Nature Preservation Society, having been acquired as early as 1906. “More than a century on, visitors continue to enjoy the lake, swamp forests and surrounding fields every day and see what a sanctuary this unique reserve represents for plants and animals. I would imagine that the stamps will inspire many nature lovers to visit Naardermeer Nature Reserve and enjoy the beautiful scenery and all that it has to offer”, said Marc van den Tweel, Managing Director of Natuurmonumenten.

Naardermeer Nature Reserve is celebrating its 110th anniversary this year, and it remains a great source of pride to many people in the Netherlands

From left to right :

Eurasian Reed Warbler (蘆葦鶯) ; Great Cormorant (普通鸕鶿)
The Netherlands (2015)
28th April, 2015. Naarden-Energiestraat

26 September 2015

⭕️Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone (翻石鷸)

Vanuatu (2012)
8th October, 2013. Port Vila

Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae. It is a highly migratory bird, breeding in northern parts of Eurasia and North America and flying south to winter on coastlines almost worldwide. It is the only species of turnstone in much of its range and is often known simply as turnstone.

It is a fairly small and stocky bird, 22–24 cm (8.7–9.4 in) long with a wingspan of 50–57 cm (20–22 in) and a weight of 85–150 g (3.0–5.3 oz). The dark, wedge-shaped bill is 2–2.5 cm (0.79–0.98 in) long and slightly upturned. The legs are fairly short at 3.5 cm (1.4 in) and are bright orange.

At all seasons, the plumage is dominated by a harlequin-like pattern of black and white. Breeding birds have reddish-brown upper parts with black markings. The head is mainly white with black streaks on the crown and a black pattern on the face. The breast is mainly black apart from a white patch on the sides. The rest of the underparts are white. In flight it reveals a white wingbar, white patch near the base of the wing and white lower back, rump and tail with dark bands on the uppertail-coverts and near the tip of the tail. The female is slightly duller than the male and has a browner head with more streaking.

19 September 2015

⭕️Herons and Bitterns found in Malaysia

From left to right :

60sen : Black-crowned Night Heron (夜鷺) ; 70sen : Striated Heron (綠簑鷺)
80sen : Grey Heron (蒼鷺)
Malaysia (2015)
26th June, 2015. Seremban, Negeri Sembilan

Black-crowned Night Herons are small stocky, short-legged compared to other herons. They are handsomely attired in a tri-colour plumage of black, grey and white, with two long plumes on the nape. Night Herons are very aggressive and steal eggs and young of other heron colonies.

Black Crowned Night Herons eat a wide range of prey from aquatic invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles to land invertebrates including small mammals. Prey is shaken vigorously until stunned or killed and then juggled about in the beak and swallowed head first.

The Striated Heron also known as mangrove heron, little heron or green-backed heron, is a small heron. Striated herons are mostly non-migratory and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Little herons are often encountered at Sungei Buloh Nature Park, hunched into a compact egg-shape on a branch over the water, motionless but intently looking out for prey. Little herons use a wide variety of hunting techniques, but usually hunt from cover and rarely forage on the open mudflats.

The grey heron is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is a large bird, standing up to 100 cm tall and measuring 84–102 cm long with a 155–195 cm wingspan. Grey Herons have long necks and powerful bills for a long and strong reach. They usually wait on the mud or at the water’s edge to snatch passing aquatic prey. They can stand motionless for hours.

Black-crowned Night Heron (夜鷺)

Malaysia (2015)

25th June, 2015. Kuala Selangor

12 September 2015

⭕️Traditional hunting

From top to bottom :

Golden Eagle (金雕) ; Saker Falcon (獵鷹)
Peregrine Falcon (黑翅長腳鷸)

Kyrgyzstan (2015)

15th May, 2015. Bishkek

'Salburun'which means "Hunter's Zest" in Kyrgyz language, is a traditional hunting fest that has been held annually since 1997 in the area of Issyk Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia.

Hunting with golden eagles is a skill handed down from generation to generation in rural Kyrgyzstan. It dates back to the times when hunting was the only means of survival in the Kyrgyz steppe. The organisers of the "Salburun" Festival revived the tradition in the form of a competition four years ago in order to preserve local culture. Hunting has always been an integral part of the nomadic lifestyle of the Kyrgyz people.

There are only a few "berkutchi" - birds of prey hunters - left in Kyrgyzstan. The majority of them learned the secrets of taming the wild bird from their fathers and grandfathers. The hunter takes the bird and begins training when it is a nesting. When it grows up, the bird remains faithful to its owner and even recognises his voice.

Kyrgyz hunters say that in former times one hunter with a golden eagle could support a large family.

Golden Eagle (金雕)

Kyrgyzstan (2015)

15th May, 2015. Bishkek

Saker Falcon (獵鷹)

Kyrgyzstan (2015)

14th May, 2015. Bishkek

Peregrine Falcon (擬游隼)

Kyrgyzstan (2015)

15th May, 2015. Bishkek

5 September 2015

⭕️Macao wetlands

Black-faced Spoonbill (黑面琵鷺)

Macao (2015)
5th May, 2015. Seac Pai Van

Wetlands, known as the “Kidneys of the Earth”, together with forests and oceans, comprise the three paramount ecosystems of the Earth. This May, to demonstrate China’s achievement in wetland conservation and its pioneering experience in the development of wetland protection, China Central Television (CCTV) kicked off a major charity programme – “Beautiful China – Tour of Wetlands” and launched an internet poll in late September. A combination of the online votes and the organising committee’s evaluation selected Macao’s wetland as one of China’s Top Ten Charming Wetlands.

Amid rapid economic development and continuing population growth, China’s wetlands face many problems such as declining biodiversity and decreased nationwide wetland area, etc. This programme aims to discover and exchange experiences on wetland conservation, and also hopes to awaken people’s awareness of conservation of the natural environment and the need to safeguard the healthy growth of wetlands. The programme started in May and included an opening ceremony, a documentary show, an internet poll and an award ceremony, etc. Across the entire network it is recorded more than 230 million people voted online, with the Macao wetland receiving more than one million votes. In combination with the evaluation by the organising committee, leaders from the State Forestry Administration, experts and scholars based on the rarity of prominent species and benefits from conservation, Macao was successfully included in the list of China’s Top Ten Charming Wetlands.

Black-faced Spoonbill (黑面琵鷺)

Macao (2015)

5th May, 2015. Seac Pai Van

Black-faced Spoonbill (黑面琵鷺)

Macao (2015)

5th May, 2015. Macao

29 August 2015

⭕️Tranqueras

Greater Rhea (美洲鴕鳥)
Uruguay (2014)
22nd July, 2014. Tranqueras

Tranqueras is a city in the Rivera Department of northeastern Uruguay.

During the first decades of the 19th century the area was known as Paso de Tranqueras because of the homonymous bridge over the Tacuarembó Grande river. In 1890 the French Marcos Bourré donated to the state some land for the construction of a railway station. The arrival of the railway became the birth point of a village which grew rapidly with hotels, stores and small industry.

Red Knot (紅腹濱鷸)
Uruguay (2013)
22nd July, 2013. Montevideo

22 August 2015

⭕️Tristan's endemic Finches

35p : Gough Finch (高夫島雀) ; 45p : Dunn's Finch (特島雀)
50p : Nightingale Island Finch (南丁格爾地雀) ; £1,50 : Wilkins's Finch (大嘴島雀)
Tristan da Cunha (2014)
6th August, 2014. Tristan da Cunha

Tristan’s finches traditionally were called buntings. The Gough Finch Rowettia goughhensis, was named after John Quiller Rowett, the sponsor of Shackleton’s last expedition, which called at Gough in mid-1922 after Shackleton’s death. Unfortunately, Gough Finches are now scarce on Gough Island, being largely confined to sheer coastal cliffs and high mountainous areas where they find some refuge from introduced House Mice. The mice prey on the finch’s chicks (and those of many seabird species), resulting in the finch being listed as Critically Endangered.

Tristan’s finches are equally prone to introduced predators. They once occurred at all three islands in the Tristan group, but died out on Tristan within 50 years of the island’s colonization in 1810. Fortunately, Inaccessible and Nightingale Island lack introduced mammals, and so still support healthy populations of finches.