Giant Canada Postage Stamps

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  675 Commissioners St.
Date:  March 2024

  Canada Post has a Delivery Centre at the corner of Commissioners Street and Leslie Street in Toronto. It has nine giant stamps along its Leslie Street wall.  The stamps all contain Canadian birds. Many birders pass this building each day on their way to Tommy Thompson Park. The park is known for the large variety of birds that visit. Let's take a look at these stamps and the featured birds.

 

   This stamp features the Canada goose. The photo at the top of this blog is of Canada geese at Tommy Thompson Park. Canada geese are easily found all over Toronto near almost any water source.

 

 

Loon babies like to ride on the backs of their parents. This giant stamp features a male loon with a pair of babies.

     The loon above was spotted in Tadoussac, Quebec. It didn't have any babies on its back.

         This stamp is of a raven. Ravens are about twice as big as crows and have more rough feathers on their neck.

 

        This raven followed us around as we hiked in Algonquin Park. Ravens are about as smart as a 7 year old child and can remember faces for years. Perhaps we had met this raven before ?

    Toronto loves blue jays. After all it is the name of their baseball team. This blue jay was part of a group in High Park.

    This blue jay stamp shows a flying jay. Probably sliding into home plate for the winning run.

     This stamp is of a chickadee. It looks like it is doing a dance with its wings.

  This chickadee was seen fluttering around in the bushes at Humber Bay Park East.

 The remaining stamps are all of different raptors. This stamp is of a gyrfalcon. 

   Gyrfalcons are usually found up in the arctic. We have never seen a wild one. This gyrfalcon was at the Toronto Zoo.

  The other raptor stamps are all of owls.  This one is a great grey owl. It is the North America's tallest owl from head to tip of the tail.

 This is another species that does not make it down to Toronto.  We saw this one in the Assiniboine Zoo in Winnipeg.  The great grey owl is the provincial bird of Manitoba.

This stamp is another great owl. This is the great horned owl.

High Park in Toronto is known for breeding pairs of this owl.  We have still not encountered any.  We have heard them calling in the night. This owl is called Butters and works for the Toronto Zoo outreach program.

This last owl stamp is of a snowy owl. While they live and breed in the Arctic they do come down to Toronto during what is called an irruption. This is when there is an increase in the owl population and they have to travel further to find new territory.

 This snowy owl was spotted in Tommy Thompson Park. If you want the chance to see amazing creatures like this then check out the park.  On the way there stop to admire the illustrated stamps that they inspired.

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Map of Our World
Canada Post - Giant Postage Stamps

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Post # 357

Lioness & Lesser Kudu

Location: London, England
Address: 8 Grosvenor Gardens
Date: September 2025

    Most of the lions found in London, England are standing around looking majestic. They can be found on coats of arms, flags, over doorways, and more. This lion statue above has been in London since 1837 and is currently standing on the South Bank beside Westminster Bridge. In artwork, it is usually the male lion depicted with its flowing mane. Today we are searching for a lioness.

 

    We had heard reports of a lioness in Grosvenor Park. The park is divided into two triangular parts.  There is an upper park and a lower park. North and south if you prefer. In the southern park we found this hut used for gardening supplies. It is covered with shells from both England and France.

 On the day we visited there were workers in the gardens and what we assume was an art display. It looked like they were growing some weird cabbage in a small fenced in garden. So far no lioness.

  Suddenly, in the upper garden we saw something headed towards us. It was a lioness chasing a kudu.

  As it was only a sculpture, it wasn't going anywhere, but the sense of motion captured in the piece was fabulous. It truly represented the struggle of life in the wild.

  While the male lions in London stand around, the females do the hunting. In the wild, lionesses do about 85 percent of the hunting to support the pride. This lioness above looks like she is taking it easy, but she just killed an impala and is watching over her three cubs while they enjoy their lunch.

  As the title of the statue suggests, the lioness is chasing a Lesser Kudu. The photo above is of a Greater Kudu in Kruger National Park. The main difference between the two types of kudu is size. With the Greater being obviously taller and heavier than the Lesser.

A kudu can jump five feet high from a standing position and up to ten feet if it gets a running start. That can be a difficult animal to catch.

  The jumping ability of the Kudu means that it could jump into the upper level of one of the buses at nearby Victoria Station. The double decker buses are only about 14 feet tall. If you are at Victoria Station it is only a short walk to Grosvenor Park. While you are there, you can catch a kudu. You can also catch a lioness trying to catch a kudu.

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Map of Our World
Lioness & Lesser Kudu

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Post # 356

Clovi

 

Location: Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Address: Carr. a Reserva de Monteverde
Date: January 2026
Website: fineartglobe.com

    The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is home to over 400 bird species, 100 mammal species and countless insect and plant species. It is also home to one giant wooden man. He sits across the road from the main parking lot outside of a hostel. Just like the wildlife in the reserve, you have to really be paying attention in order to see him.

 

    From the main parking lot of the reserve you have to take a shuttle along the road before you can begin your hike. Not everyone would notice Clovi sitting on the other side of the street.

 

  The Clovis people lived around 11,000 BC.  The story the sculptor likes to tell is that the Clovis people passed through Costa Rica and decided to take a rest and enjoy the beauty of the country.  A small plaque on one of Clovi's legs gives credit to two Costa Ricans. They are Gabriel Muñoz Ramírez and Andrés Quesada. The other leg says Monteverde                 

 

   Clovi sits on the ground relaxing. He is made of a 10 metre long metal frame that was then covered in wooden pieces.  All of the pieces are unwanted or found wood. Some of them used to be furniture from the hostel behind Clovi.

 

 

   Clovi really embraces the Pura Vida (Pure Life) lifestyle of the Costa Ricans. Before you get in your car and drive away be sure to hunt around to see if you can't spot him. When in Costa Rica you should always be watching and listening to enjoy all the wonders that it holds.

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Map of Our World
Clovi

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Post # 355