Leopard Seal and Adelie Penguin

Leopard Seal (豹海豹)

Australian Antarctic Territory (2001)

15th February, 2009. Casey Station

Leopard Seal is second large seal in Antarctic, just after Southern Elephant Seal (南象海豹). Back colour is dark grey but light greyed abdomen, however it named leopard as its neck with black spots. Killer Whale (虎鯨) is its only natural enemy, smallest marine life like krill to large animal penguin also can become its food.

This set of WWF stamp shown the Leopard Seals playing with Adelie Penguins (阿德利企鵝), actually those penguins look facing danger as sometimes Leopard Seal kills them. When seal wants to catch them, it will lay under the water and wait penguins jump into water.

The cover was sent from Casey Station of AAT, that means I collected two station's postmarks. The postmark features a couple of Australian Sea Lion (澳洲海獅), they look very cute. Also have one signet on the left-bottom of envelope illustrated Adelie Penguins lay on a wooden case, do you think these three penguins look like escape the dangerous ?

Steller's Eider

Front

Steller's Eider (小絨鴨)

Åland (2001)

Back

Arctic Tern (北極燕鷗)

Åland (2000)

16th February, 2009. Mariehamn

Before I only collect bird stamps, issues from some countries are very attractive for me and continue to collect them, Åland is one of them. It doesn't issue many stamps in each year, just around 20 to 25 stamps, and they are not costly. However, it is not easy to find posted envelope from there - if not visit or travel to there.

Above mail, thanks for correspondence of Åland Post, helped me coordinate the cover. As the registered label too large for C6 size envelope, they found a plastic bag put all things together. I franked it on the back side of envelope after it arrived.

Steller's Eider is a rear migratory bird found in northern countries. As seen in the stamps, male feather is much colourful than female which only have browned colour. They bleeding in small pound but live in near shore. On the back side of the cover features another bird called Arctic Tern, it has been appeared on Portugal stamp and shown here before.

Dear swap partners, as some reasons, swap posted First Day Cover activity will be suspended on May, that means I will not have ability to send you posted First Day Cover in future, I am sorry for this information. However normal exchange will not have any change, I am happy to swap ordinary covers from your place, thank you.

Extended WWF collection (2)

Left : Common Viper (極北蝰) ; Right : Fire Salamander (火蠑螈)

Belgium (2000)

21st January, 2009. Mechelen

A pair of envelope contain a set of WWF stamps issued by Belgium on nine years ago, stamps are illustrated four european Amphibians (兩棲類) and Reptiles (爬蟲類) separately. Stamps designed simply without any background, as it issued on 2000, face values are indicated in two currencies - Belgian Franc and Euro.

Fire Salamander and Sand Lizard are being popular pets nowadays, although whole skin of Fire Salamander is poisonous. Many websites teach people how to pet those species at home or bleeding juvenile. As like as most species, wild lived habitants are decreasing in recent years, especially in Europe.

Covers feature extra Buzin stamps issued on 2005, it is Marsh Tit (泥澤山雀). It is very common in Europe except Spain and Portugal, and can be found in forest of north-east China. In China, it is traditional pet as they can sing a nice sound, thus they are facing illegal hunting and trading in its place for a long time.

Left : Sand Lizard (捷蜥蜴) ; Right : Common Tree Frog (歐洲樹蟾)

Belgium (2000)

21st January, 2009. Mechelen

Extended WWF collection (1)

Chinese White Dolphin (中華白海豚)

Hongkong (1999)

14th November, 1999. Maonshan

On today and tomorrow, I would like to show three groups of cover which are not related to birds, they are responsible to my swap partners. First one is a posted first day cover of Chinese White Dolphin issued by Hongkong in 1999, it is the only one and first WWF issue of Hongkong, and only two WWF sets have been issued in great Chinese area - other one is Chinese Pangolin (穿山甲) issued by Macao in 1995.

Most of dolphins are live in offshore of Cheklapkok Airport, southern Lantau and Tai O. People begin to pay attention to them since the location of new airport confirmed at Cheklapkok on 1992. Before the reclamation of airport, Cheklapkok and Tung Chung, north Lantau was a natural environment and wetland for different species, included endemic species Romer's Tree Frog (盧文氏樹蛙) which only be found in there and Lamma Island. Nowadays, only the dolphins can be seen in original offshore area but frogs are moved to other places.

As the licensing problem, only stamps, pre-paid postcards and first day cover carry WWF logo. The beautiful souvenir sheet which shown continuing actions of dolphins is without logo. After a year, Hongkong Post reprinted the $5 stamp on one sheetlet to commemorate stamp exhibition held on 2001.

Little Tern

Front

Little Tern (小燕鷗)

Croatia (2006)

Back

Orsini's Viper (歐西尼氏腹蛇)

Croatia (1999)

10th February, 2009. Zagreb

16th February, 2009. Hongkong

An interesting cover features two different WWF stamp sets issued by Croatia. The country has been issued three sets of WWF stamp, I still missing the one issued on 2004. Little Tern seems is a normal seabird in the world, can be found offshore of Asia, Europe, eastern Australia and western Africa. However the population has declined or become extinct in most European countries, and only few river or inland suitable for them to habitat. In Croatia, Sava and Drava, which is located in the border of Hungary and Croatia can be found the habitations.

European Turtle Dove

European Turtle Dove (歐斑鳩)

Madeira (2002)

25th February, 2008. São Vicente, Madeira

A small (27mm) chalk-browned Turtle Dove with black and white veins on neck and dark-browned wings, size is smaller than Rufous Turtle Dove. Mostly they are widely living in Europe, Eurasia and North Africa. In Madeira, good bird-watching place is São Vicente, a small village in the north of Madeira.

Above cover is sent from São Vicente, the return address I added back after it come back. However, I known one friend who lives in Madeira afterward, her house is in São Vicente and nearest this hotel. She surprises this cover and sent me some postcards from there, it is really a nice place.

Bulwer's Pheasant

Bulwer's Pheasant (鱗背鷴)

Brunei Darussalam (2001)

22nd March, 2008. MPO, Belait

Endemic bird of Borneo forests, it only can be observed in eastern Malaysia and Brunei. However some zoos and parks feed them humanly. Bulwer's Pheasant is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List nowadays as population rapidly decreasing. Cover shown two stamps illustrated mainly different between two sexes, male is in blue colour but female and juveniles are in brown colours. Sender of this mail Hung is a Chinese who lives in there, thus he can write 'airmail' in Chinese characters, thanks for his great mail.