COVER N.81 - Faroe Islands

Postmark: Tórshavn 24.02.2022 FØROYAR
Posted on the 24th February; received on the  7th March
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Puffins... what's not to like about their stubby little bodies and pleasant faces with that most wonderful colourful beak? I only saw them once, from afar, in Ireland, flying, but today they came and paid me a visit, neatly glued onto the beautiful cover I got from the Faroe Islands, once again courtesy of Roland. Thank you so much, friend!

The Faroe Islands are one of those destinations that anyone with a soft spot for nature and wildlife photography has on the whish list (not always for the nicest of reasons... I can't forget the pictures on an old national geographic with a bay with the sea tinted blood red..), so adding them to my philatelic atlas fills me with great pleasure. While technically integrating  Denmark, the 18 islands that constitute the Faroe Archipelago enjoy strong administrative autonomy and are self-governed, with their own cabinet and Parliament (the Løgting). 

As it happens in quite a number of Island nations, total independence is strongly supported by a significant share of the population who would like to sever their ties with the Kingdom of Denmark, so one day, maybe,  the United Nations may get a new full standing member.

The two stamps on my cover, denominated at 27 and 17 Danish Krone, constitute the 2021 Europa set, issued on 26APR2021. They depict that most charming cousin of the seagull, the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica). 

A northern breeder, it can travel as south as my own country where it can be episodically seen offshore during the winter migration, from October to April.

Although puffin populations still add up to 11 million plus individuals, its global conservation status was downgraded in 2015 and is now classified "Vulnerable", due to a sharp decrease in numbers in later years as a result of "increased predation by gulls and skuas, the introduction of rats, cats, dogs, and foxes onto some islands used for nesting, contamination by toxic residues, drowning in fishing nets, declining food supplies, and climate change" (cf. wikipedia).

The very neat and clean postmark indicates that the cove´r was mailed from the city of Tórshavn, (Thor's harbour') the Faroese Capital, in the Island of Streymoy, with a population of about 19,000.