COVER N. 605 -  NORWAY

Postmark: Posten Norge A79 25.06.2025

Posted on the 25th June; Received on the 8th July 2025

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Again, Roland surprises me with a great item for my growing collection and on top of it a new country to the list... Norway. Un grand Merci, cher ami!

I've said it before, but I have to state it again. This little unpretentious blog that I have been keeping for the last 4 years (tempus fugit...) has a life of own and I'm just its general keeper. All the interesting stuff (and I hope you  do not mind my saying so since I'm trapped in a clear conflict of interest, for mine are the words) that I post here (and again I'm not talking about my words, but about the covers and postcards and stamps that justify them),  be it a single stamp cover, or an oddball like today's post, comes from contributions of generous friends who always strive to ensure I am allowed into the realms of philatelic diversity and excellence.

How on earth would I ever get a cover such as this one, if not for the kindness and generosity of Roland... 

I started this blog during Covid times. I, like so many people, had too much time on my hands, so I revisited a long gone interest... philately....but these were the days of wonder... thanks to the internet I could now access an almost infinite reserve of literature, in the form of blogs and websites dedicated to this hobby and finding like minded people who would not mind sharing their knowledge and experience in the field was so much easier now....

So far it has been a great ride and the amount of knowledge I have amassed just from looking at the covers people have been sending me is enormous. I could not be more thankful nor happier for having decided to make a first blog post....

The Ecopolaris missions have been taking place for over 25 years now, as stated on GREA's (Groupe de Recherche en Écologie Arctique) website.  

During the current season a third consecutive Ecopolaris mission on the Varanger  peninsula, in the North of Norway, aimed at studying  the life habits of a bird I am also familiar with, for it is a common sight here in marshes and the coast, the common ringed plover.

The cover, graced with the logo of the Ecopolaris missions  is also embellished with the outstanding mission cachet  featuring a Common  ringed plover, faking a broken wing. This a  behaviour meant to draw the attention of any predator who sets eyes of the bird's nest, thus enticing it to follow the "wounded " bird  away from the sensitive procreation area, as can be read on the notes that accompanied the cover.

I suspect the flying .. (hhhhmmmm is it a grouse?) bird to be GREA's logo. 

Of note is the fact that the cover is signed by the four members of the mission  Olivier Gilg, Brigitte Sabard, Thomas Pagnon and Simitri Zver.

The "Europa 20g" stamp featuring a pig, is part of a two stamp set of the same tariff, issued on 11JUN2021 themed on domesticated animals (the companion stamp features a cow). 

This is also the second GREA cover I got from Roland, the first (Cover#288) being from a mission in Greenland.