The Golden Eagle

Postcard US-2711124 to the Netherlands shows a golden eagle soaring over the Mount  Charleston near Las Vegas in Nevada.

One of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere, the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Although considered hawk-like, these dark brown birds have a stance and bearing much like that of an eagle, with a soaring wingspan of 76-92", eyes with an "eagle look", and a "golden" nap. They build their nests with a large mass of sticks on a crag, ledge or in a tree, with a pair alternating between several nests in different years.

Photo by Alan & Sandy Carey.

Vintage Cardinal Song Bird Illustration

Postcard US-2995481 to Poland shows a vintage cardinal song bird illustration from the 1800s. Known as the redbird or common cardinal, the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is in the genus Cardinalis and can be found in woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and swamps from southern Canada, the eastern United States from Maine to Texas, to Mexico. The bird has a distinctive crest on the head, and a black mask on the face for the male and a gray mask for the female. According to Wikepedia, "the male is a vibrant red, while the female is a dull red-brown shade. The northern cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on insects and fruit. The male behaves territorially, marking out his territory with song. During courtship, the male feeds seed to the female beak-to-beak. A clutch of three to four eggs is laid, and two to four clutches are produced each year. It was once prized as a pet, but its sale as a cage bird is now banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918."

The card was purchased from Zazzle.

Chung-cheng Lake in Meinong, Taiwan

This postcard from a private swap shows the Chung-cheng Lake (中正湖) in Meinong District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC). A man-made lake originally built in 1748 known as Jhongjun Pi (中圳埤), it was renovated into a reservoir between 1916 and 1920 during the Japanese occupation. With an area of 21 hectares or 52 acres, the lake had a capacity to furnish water for irrigation of over 130 hectares or 321 acres of farmland. It was also used for fish farming. After World War II, the lake was renamed to Chung-cheng Lake in 1956, after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石: October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng (蔣中正) who was the leader of the Republic of China between 1928 and 1975. A pavilion was also built in the lake in honor of Chiang. However, there have been petitions to change the name of the lake to Meinong Lake (美濃湖) since 1996, in protest of Chiang's role in the 228 Massacre. On a side note, many statues of former president Chiang Kai-shek have been vandalized across the island around the 68th anniversary of the 228 Incident on Saturday, February 28, 2015.

While the lake capacity for water supply has been diminishing due to sediment built-up since the 1957 Meinong flood, it becomes part of the largest wetland ecosystem in the area that hosts a large number of migratory birds during the winter months from October to March next year. More than 60 bird species have been spotted around the lake. A wooden boardwalk around the lake was completed last November to accommodate nature lovers.

10th Anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Marked

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami that happened on December 26, 2004 and devastated Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other countries around the Pacific Rim as one of worst natural disasters in modern history.

Banda Aceh in Indonesia's Aceh province was among the hardest hit areas. More than 160,000 people died in Indonesia, accounting for more than 50% of the total 230,000 victims killed from all affected countries. Indonesia's Vice President Jusuf Kalla attended a ceremony in Banda Aceh today where many ambassadors of countries that assisted in the massive recovery effort 10 years ago were also present.

The stamped card was purchased at the Banda Aceh Post Office in early 2005 when I was volunteering in the recover effort. It has two of the four birds stamps issued on January 7, 1992: a 100 Rp White-crested Laughingthrush (Garrulax leucolophus) and a 200 Rp. Common Flameback (Dinopium javanense) with a remark "Dijamin Asli" (guaranteed authentic) on the bottom of the card.

View image | gettyimages.com

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem

Postcard US-3038790 to Germany was one of those postcards I bought at the tropical themed casino Margaritaville in Las Vegas, showing a trio of parrots relaxing on the beach by a "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem" sign post. Since a parrot can really sing "I'm Sexy and I Know it" as seen on this Youtube video, the above beach scene may not be a total fantasy.

On a technical note, unlike the previous Youtube videos embedded in this blog with the built-in tools from Blogger.com that require Adobe Flash player or browser plug-ins, this video was embedded using the HTML 5 codes provided on the Youtube page under the Share/Embed/Email tabs. I will start to use the HTML 5 codes from now on, so that the embedded videos can be viewed on a mobile devices that do not support Adobe Flash.

São Miguel, Portugal

Postcard PT-357733 from Portugal shows São Miguel Island, named for Saint Michael, the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Also referred as "the Green Island," it has a Special Protection Area containing the largest remnant of laurisilva forest on the island, habitat to the endemic and critically endangered bird, the Azores Bullfinch.

It is also the hometown of Pauleta (Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes, born April 28, 1973), a football player for the Portuguese National Team. Pauleta scored 47 goals in 88 matches for Portugal, a national record at the time of his retirement. He played in two World Cups and two European Championships.

In a Group G match against the United States during the 2014 FIFA World Cup at Arena Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil today, Silvestre Varela of the Portuguese National Team scored his team's second goal in the last minute, keeping Portugal alive with a 2:2 draw on June 22, 2014.

#451062278 / gettyimages.com

Canada Geese and Moon

Postcard DE-3239862 from Germany shows "Canada Geese and Moon." According to Wikipedia, "the Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a goose with a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brown body. Native to arctic and temperate regions of North America."

De Alde Feanen National Park

Postcard NL-2466145 from the Netherlands shows the Alde Feanen National Park, located in Friesland Province, the Netherlands. It is part of the Natura 2000, an ecological network of protected areas in the European Union. There are at least 450 plant species and 100 bird species in the morass, lake, forest, peatland and meadow ecosystems.

Yellow-headed Blackbird

The monthly Bank of America's Museums on US program is held for this month on March 1 and  March 2, 2014. You can visit more than 150 arts, culture and educational institutions in the United States free with a Bank of America and Merrill Lynch debit or credit card. Las Vegas Natural History Museum, DISCOVERY Children's Museum, and Las Vegas Springs Preserve are the participating museums in Las Vegas. I took this opportunity to walk around the Springs Preserve and found the weather pleasant.

Postcard US-1650748 to Belarus was produced by the Springs Preserve, showing a Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus). It is a medium-sized blackbird with a pointed bill in adults. The adult male has a mostly black body but a bright yellow head and breast. The adult female is mainly brown with a dull yellow throat and breast. Their breeding habitat is cattail marshes mainly located west of the Great Lakes. They migrate to the south western United States and Mexico in the winter. That's when we can see them in Nevada.