Cyprus

19/4/14
My friends Adrienne and Hamid recently got married and spent their Honeymoon in Cyprus. Adie sent me this postcard with 3 things that made her think of my while they were there...
1. She thinks I could name all the flowers that were blooming everywhere.
2. It is full of "small chirpy birds" and lies on the migration route for the Eastern Mediterranean. Apparently 375 species have been recorded and two are indigenous!
3. Apparently there are lots of yummy sounding "Childrens Cocktails" or "Drink and Drive Cocktails" (I don't drink alcohol).

I hope you brought back some mocktail recipes to try when I next visit, and maybe I will add Cyprus to my list of birding countries to visit in the future! Thanks for the postcard, and glad you had an awesome time, Mr and Mrs H!

United Arab Emirates

25/7/14
Kitoro sent me this lovely postcard from Dubai, which also shows one of the tall towers in this vibrant city. I like the style of this postcard, it feels old despite showing a modern building.

Thanks so much for the postcard.

*****

16/4/14
I have followed "Starring You" on Facebook almost since I started collecting postcards. This is my first postcard from them showing one of the tallest buildings in Dubai. Michael writes that it's a very special place with very rich and very poor people living there. He's heard some amazing stories but is now moving on to Malaysia.

Thanks so much for the postcard, and hope to receive a few more from your amazing travels!

Sierra Leone

9/4/14
I received this postcard in an envelope from Mustapha, who lives in Freetown. It was a lovely surprise to see so many bird stamps on the envelope, so I took a combined photo!

Thanks so much for the postcard!

Brazil

7/8/14
Aurelio sent me this postcard showing one of many beaches in the area of Brazil where she lives. I never consider beaches when I think of Brazil, so it was nice to see something that wasn't rainforest (even though I love that too!) It looks like there are beach buggy's with people gathering - maybe for surfing?

Thanks so much for the postcard!

*****

25/7/14
After a summer away, I reset my postcrossing profile to "active" and then had to go away for a week. When I returned, I had some lovely postcards waiting for me, including this one from Mayla. I had just been reading an article about these amazing birds, so it was very well timed to receive this postcard. The Arara Azul is a very rare parrot from South America, and is the main character in the film Rio (VERY good movie!)
Thanks so much for the postcard and the information!

*****

7/5/14
I received these two postcards from Deusimar, who agreed to swap with me following a post on Facebook. These parrots have such an amazing plumage, I can understand why they have been popular as pets. Unfortunately, this has led to a massive decline in numbers and they are now a focus of conservation efforts in the area. Thankfully, the Pantanal still has plenty of other birds, and it looks like an amazing place for wildlife watching- maybe one day I'll get there for a visit to see it all for myself!

Thanks so much for the postcards.

*****

 10/4/14
Two Brazilian Birds in one day! Of all the Brazilian birds, this is possible the most iconic - a Blue and Yellow Macaw, or the Arara Blue. Santiago is a student in engineering and sent me this postcard after my request for native birds.

Thanks so much for the postcard, and you are right, they are gorgeous animals.

*****

10/4/14
Silvia sent me a very different Brazilian Bird - this is a Canary, one of the most common species in Brazil. Unfortunately they are often caught and kept in cages as songbirds, which I believe is a problem worldwide.

Thanks so much for the postcard, and I hope you receive mine soon (we posted on the same day!)

Nepal

10/4/14
Krishna sent me this postcard showing the Bhaktapur Durbar Square, which looks like it has lots of interesting architecture. I especially like this lion statue, I wonder what he is guarding?

Thanks so much for the postcard, and I hope you had a great Birthday.

Netherlands

17/9/14
Cynni sent me this lovely Long Tailed Tit postcard, or as I call them, a Lotty! They are one of my favourite species, like little pinkish-grey pom-poms with really long tails!

Thanks so much for the card, and I hope you had a good day at the Zoo.

*****

 5/9/14
Gerda sent me this postcard showing traditional Dutch dress. The women's headpieces look crazy, especially if it is a windy day! Gerda lives with her husband and for their recent anniversary they went to a music concert.

Many thanks for the postcard, and I wish you happiness together.

*****

4/9/14
Cynni sent me this postcard of a White Stork. Last spring she watched a Stork webcam and saw the family raise three chicks.

Thanks for adding a new card to my bird collection.

*****

11/8/14
Wim sent me this lovely ID postcard showing Birds of the Woods. It's interesting that almost all of the species shown also occur in the UK, and I have had the pleasure of handling many of them. Wim says he likes spending time in the woods listening to the birds, and sometimes they will show themselves.

Thanks so much for the postcard.

*****

9/4/14
Heather posted on a facebook group asking for help decluttering. I gladly offered to help and received this lovely postcard showing Den Bosch. She mentioned the special food called a Bossche Bol, which I googled and OMG! A tennis ball sized profiterole, covered in chocolate! If I ever visit, I will most definitely be trying one! Apparently you can also take a boat trip under the city, which presumably is for people who haven't eaten too many Bossche Bol's!

Thanks so much for the postcard and for making me really want chocolate now!

Tanzania

7/4/14
Emmanuel sent me this aerial view of Mount Kilimanjaro, with lots of facts and figures on the back. It is one of three mountains near the equator that have snow all year round, it is 5895m above sea level is recognised by the UN as a World Natural Heritage site. Every year over 35,000 people climb to the top, which is a massive number!

Thanks so much for the postcard and the invite! If I ever end up in Tanzania I will definitely be in touch for a guided tour!

Vietnam

3/4/14
I received this lovely postcard from Ta Tan Dat. It shows Hoi An ancient town, which is a World Heritage Site. He tells me that the street food and the landscape are wonderful, and taught me some Vietnamese too!

Xin Chao Ta Tan, and thanks so much for the postcard! Definitely on my ever increasing list of places to visit!

Pakistan

2/4/14
Salman sent me these two postcards from Hunza. I have always been curious about Pakistan so was surprised to see the snow capped peaks and the lovely golden trees in the landscape photo. The Old Fort is 900 years old, and certainly looks like it has been well used over the centuries.

Thanks so much for the postcards and the insight into Pakistan. Maybe one day I will get there for a visit!

Estonia

 18/9/14
Natalja sent me these two postcards showing Estonian birds. In Tallinn there is a district where the streets are named after birds, and she once lived on the street called Tedre, which means Black Grouse!
Storks are very common in Estonia and make nests on peoples houses and electrical poles. Apparently many people have statues of storks in their gardens, so sometimes you think there are storks in the gardens when it's just statues!

Many thanks for the postcards and the information!

*****

2/4/14
Devy sent me this beautiful postcard from Estonia, showing one of my favourite birds, the Kingfisher, and also one of my favourite flowers, the Cornflower, which is the National Flower of Estonia! Devy lives in Valga, which is a border city, half in Estonia and half in Latvia. From what I've seen of these tow countries, I don't think it will be long before I visit!

Thanks so much for the postcard!

South Africa

27/3/14
This is a mystery card! It shows scenes from around Johannesburg and some big cat prints on the back, but has no name and the Postcrossing code uses Peru as the country...?

If you know who sent it, please could you e-mail me. I hope the leopard didn't get you after you'd mailed it to me!

Australia

19/9/14
Georgie sent me this postcard showing Sulphur Crested Cockatoo's. They are very common around where she lives, and make a lot of noise when they fly over the house! They are also very good talkers and her dad keeps one called Charlie, who knows how to say lots of words and can also dance!

Many thanks for the postcard and the info.

*****

23/8/14
Georgia sent me this postcard of the famous Uluru rocks of Northern Australia. She, like many Aussies, enjoyed watching the games "because they are fun and Australia usually does well". In fact, someone she went to high school with won a Gold Medal in the Womens Hockey!

Thanks for the postcard.

*****

18/8/14
I'd love to have these critters wandering around in my back yard! Christine visited a Sanctuary to see some, in a place called Ipswich. She says that there are lots of Welsh place names around, especially as she lives in a mining town. There is a train station nearby called Ebbw Vale!

Thanks for the postcard!

*****

9/4/14
You know a postcard is from Australia when it starts with "G'day!" Tasha sent me this breathtaking postcard showing Cradle Mountain on Tasmania. It is one of the landmarks of this State and is part of the Overland Track, a 65km bushwalk track through the middle of this region. I was surprised to see such a mountainous and rugged place, but I guess the only Australian mountain I'm familiar with is Ayers Rock. It's also strange to hear that winter is coming to the Southern Hemisphere - we've been basking in warm sunshine this week and definitely thinking about packing away the winter clothes.

Thanks so much for the postcard and the information about this region.

*****

4/4/14
This lovely postcard was sent by Sarianna. She has many hobbies, which include sending postcards and travelling. It was raining when she was writing this letter, which I find strange as I forget that Australia also has some rainforests!

Thanks for the postcard and letter.

*****

26/3/14
I received this Australian Outback postcard from Kylie. It shows the area around her hometown in Queensland as she remembers it from her childhood, and I must say, that this is what I think of when someone says Australia! When she was writing this, everyone was enjoying the sunshine on the beach - now, I visited the beach last week, but was dressed in fleece, jeans and jacket!

Thanks so much for the postcard!

Bulgaria

 9/9/14
Valia sent me this postcard showing the Devil's Bridge over the Arda River in the Rhodope Mountains. The legend tells of the Devil's footprint still being visible in one of the stones, so it's worth being careful if you visit! Valia loves travelling, meeting new people, trying new food and hearing interesting stories.

Thanks so much for the postcard.

*****

(No date)
Donka sent me this special Postcrossing Bulgaria postcard showing Veliko Tarnova, the old capital city. It looks like a very impressive fortress on the top of the hill. She studied at Tarnova, so I would imagine this place was often visited.

Thanks for the postcard.

*****

1/5/14
According to Irina, Bulgaria is famous for both winter and summer tourism. In the summer the sea is very warm, and in the winter there is lots of snow on the mountains. It looks like an amazing place!

Thanks for the postcard.

*****

28/3/14
Irina sent me this multiview card of Bulgaria, showing the variety of habitats and wildlife to be found in the country. It looks amazing, and I definitely want to visit now! Interesting to see an Avocet - we get these on the coast in the UK.

Thanks so much for the postcard!