Baby Bald Eagles Named

A pair of the bonded bald eagles returned to the their nest last October at the National Arboretum, a U.S. Department of Agriculture research and education facility and a living museum in Washington D.C. They started to raise a pair of eaglets and the D.C. live Bald  Eagle Cam launched in February, 2016 with a 35-million viewership from 100 countries ever since. The mother eagle laid her first egg on February 10, 2016 and the second on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2016. The first eaglet hatched on March 18, 2016, followed by the second on March 20, 2016.

Screen Capture of the live stream from Cam A on April 2, 2016

Screen Capture of the live stream from Cam B on April 2, 2016

The baby eagles were named Freedom and Liberty during a ceremony at the National Arboretum on April 26, 2016. The names were chosen from 30,000 suggestions posted on social media. The other names proposed include Stars and Stripes.

The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States. Thanks to protections granted by the Endangered Species Act, the magnificent bald eagle has recovered from the perilous situation it was in where the Act was enacted in 1973. Based on this success, the bald eagle was removed from the Endangered Species List in 1999, and de-listed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in 2007. The postcard was produced by Sierra Club. photo credit @ Theo Allofs.

Mother & Young Baby

Earth Day celebration continues as postcard TH-165704 from Thailand arrived yesterday, showing a pair of mother and baby Asian elephants, the largest living land animals in Asia.

Since 1986, E. maximus,  one of the three subspecies of the Asian elephant, has been listed as endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In 2003, the wild population, mainly living in Sri Lanka, was estimated at between 41,410 and 52,345 individuals. According to a 2008 study, The population had declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be around 60 to 75 years. Like many other threatened species, habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation was a major factor.

Mount Charleston Fire

Baby Coyote 

I bought my postcard to Finland, US-2219302, at the Mount Charleston's Visitor Center on April 28, 2013.  The snow capped the mountain, 37.8 miles or 60 kilometers from my home, is a getaway for ski in the winter and for hiking and camping in the spring, summer and fall. It is also a good place to see plants and animals.

However, the mountain has been on fire for the past 10 days since it was started by thunder strikes on July 1, 2010. The fire is not expected to be under control until July 19.

Mount Charleston Fire Map on July 10, 2013

The smoke from the fire can be seen from my home. The wildfire burned down six structures for the first time   Tuesday night on July 9, 2013. People in the nearby communities are already under evacuation order. Hope those wild animals will have good instinct to escape as well.

Smoke from Mount Charleston Fire on July 9, 2013