Ornithology

Ornithology probably doesn't really describe a few postcards of birds, but the letter B went to bridges, so here we are with ornithology.

I am particularly fond of robins because of childhood memories of gardening with my father, when our semi-tame robin would come to oversee.

I've included the puffin and owls because they make me smile. I've never met a puffin in real life but an owl did once visit the house where we were staying for a holiday.  I don't know who was more surprised.

The egrets are there for their sheer beauty.

Robins

Robins are among my favourite birds, the European robin, that is.  I have not met an American robin even though I believe a few have made it to these shores when migrating.

The robins found in Britain are not very afraid of humans and can easily be tamed to take food from your hand.  They are less tame on mainland Europe where they were once hunted, but even there they will turn up to check for unexpected delicacies while you are gardening.

These cards are from France, Germany, Russia and the Netherlands.

Robin redbreast

I haven't yet had any Christmas postcards sent to me this year but here is the next best thing, a robin, one of the popular symbols of Christmas.

It was sent from Germany so now I can add Rotkelchen to my list of international robins-in-translation.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Christmas postcards and stamps

I bought several sets of these Royal Mail PHQ Christmas postcards a few years ago and now I'm down to one remaining set.  I'll use them up over the nest few weeks but I'll be sorry to see them go.  They show the images for the 1983 Christmas stamps:

12½p Christmas Post (pillar-box),
16p The Three Kings (chimneys )
20½ World at Peace (a dove and a blackbird)
28p Light of Christmas (street lamp)
31p Christmas Dove (topiary)

As I was looking up what the images represented, I discovered that someone is selling them on Zazzle. Surely that's a copyright issue?

That aside, I found plenty of other bird stamps:

Great Egret from Belarus

Long-eared owl on Belgian stamp

From the Netherlands 

Siberian Crane on stamp from Russia

and a cute little owl from Switzerland.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Beatrix Potter

When I was little, my mother used to read me Beatrix Potter's books and then later (though it seemed only a flash) I used to read them to my sons when they were small.  I am waiting until my grandchildren are the right age for me to start reading them again.

This particular illustration is from The Tale of Peter Rabbit and it shows how Mr McGregor, the grumpy gardener, used Peter's jacket and shoes to make a scarecrow to frighten off the blackbirds.

Birds of a feather flock together

Starlings flocking at sunset in Aberystwyth, Wales.  I presume that is the Royal Pier that we can see at the bottom left.  As with many piers, it is now much shorter than its original length of 242 metres or 794 feet.

Birds

A postcard of birds taking flight from a nature reserve in the centre of France.  The Brenne, also known as le pays de milles étangs (land of 1000 lakes), is one of the most important wetlands in France because it is a stopping off point for many migratory birds.  In fact there are more than 3000 lakes, but who's counting?

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Hämeenlinna

Illustrations of various places in Hämeenlinna by the artist Marjaliisa Pitkäranta from Finland.

Mrs Owl

Mrs Owl (or Frau Eule to be precise) by the artist Rudi Hurzlmeier, will go straight into my all time favourite folder even though the odd eyes are a little disconcerting.  It is a card produced by the German publishers, Inkognito.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Robins at Christmas

Robins frequently feature on Christmas cards and often on Christmas stamps.  In 2001 the Royal Mail issued this set, here as the PHQ stamp cards.

Robins have been associated with Christmas in the UK ever since the mid 1800s.  Postmen used to have a red uniform (in fact they still do to some extent) and became known as robins.  The robins on Christmas cards symbolised the postmen delivering the mail until they became associated with Christmas in their own right.  I'd be interested to know if other countries also associate robins with Christmas.  I know you have different birds called robins in north America.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Indiana

I understand the red cardinal is the state bird for Indiana, and that I do recognise, but all the other birds on this beautiful postcard are unknown to me.  If anyone can name them for me, I'd be delighted to hear.

Updated to add the names of the birds: (my thanks to Christina and Suzanne McCarthy)

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (in flight)
Baltimore Oriole (partly obscured)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Northern Cardinal
Blue Jay
Mourning Dove
American Robin
American Goldfinch
Red-winged Blackbird
Red-headed Woodpecker (partly obscured)


This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog, The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Still winter

While I have started looking around for signs of spring, people in other countries are still in the firm grip of winter.  Finland will be one of them.  This picture makes it look so very beautiful.

Peace

Paz, Portuguese for peace, a beautiful image and message from Brazil.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

May your Christmas be filled with peace and love.

Greetings from New Mexico

I have a friend who lived in New Mexico so when I saw a few postcards from that state up for sale several weeks ago, I couldn't resist them.  I have several but I'll try to space them out with other cards, rather than overwhelm you with them all at once.

The first card shows the roadrunner, the New Mexico state bird (and of Looney Tunes fame), with above "New Mexico chile drying in the sun".  The spelling of "chile" is the Spanish version but "chili" is more commonly used.  In the UK, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, "chilli" is the usual spelling.  The word chile has nothing to do with the country Chile.

The second card shows bread baking in Taos Pueblo in the upper half of the card.  It's a pity the top of the picture was cut off.  It would make a nice card in its own right, especially since the Pueblo de Taos is a UNESCO World heritage Site.

The lower picture is of the New Mexico State Capitol**, known as the Roundhouse.  It is the only round state capitol in the USA.  Any recent images of the building show it painted in a sandy brown colour rather than the green shown here.  I wonder whether the card's colour reproduction is poor or if the capitol's colour has been changed over the years.

That could help date the cards.  They are deckle edged which usually dates to the 1960s or 70s.  The cards are unused so there is no clue from a postmark.

**I have always been confused by the difference between capitol and capital.  I have finally realised that "capitol" is the building and "capital" is the city in which the capitol is found.

Fluffy ducks

Ducklings from Belarus definitely have the "awww" factor.

Bird garden, Hong Kong

A street stall in Hong Kong selling birds as pets.  According to the person who sent this to me, it is shut down whenever a case of avian flu is discovered, which is a "scarily frequent occurrence".

Another owl

I say another, because I have a previous card, from the USA, showing an owl, the great horned owl.  It never ceases to amaze me that anyone can catch such a wonderful picture of a bird in flight.  This card came from Finland so, although it is called a great horned owl on the card, I suspect it may be a different species.

P-p-p-pick up a Penguin

The World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF, produced this postcard to support conservation.  It looks as though it may be a child's drawing but I don't know.  There is no information on the reverse.  It came to me from Finland.

The P-p-p-pick up a Penguin title probably gives away my age.  It refers to an old (60s? 70s?) ad for chocolate biscuits called Penguins and has now been absorbed into general use in the UK.  The P-p-p prefix appears frequently in other ways.  The most recent example was probably the headline, "Keepers p-p-p-pick up a penguin as the birds move to new home", which was written when Edinburgh Zoo moved its penguins to a new enclosure.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted on Beth Niquette's blog The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

Great horned owl

The Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus, is a native of the Americas, mottled grey-brown above with fine dark grey horizontal banding below.  Ear tufts set wide apart and yellow eyes.  This owl hunts rabbits, rodents, and birds, including crows, ducks and other owls.  Occasionally skunks.  Found in all habitat with trees and cliffs.
It is unlawful to have such birds in your possession.  Report helpless birds to State Wildlife Commissions immediately.

I have only once ever seen an owl though I heard them frequently when we lived beside woodland.  When I did see one, it was very close because it flew into the house.  It was a magnificent bird.  I opened the windows, turned off the light, and it glided away as silently as it arrived.  I would have thought it was a dream but the rest of the family was there - as amazed as I was.