(written by a former member of the Bird Stamp Society)
Flicking through the Yvert & Tellier 2020 Catalogue for Monaco and French Overseas Territories, I came across the miniature sheet below (issued in 2006) which features three critically endangered birds of New Caledonia (Nouvelle Calédonie). I thought that it would be interesting to learn more about these three birds; and in particular, to establish if their prospects for survival had improved in the intervening 14 years. Calédoscope, the philatelic website of the New Caledonian Office des Postes et Télécommunications (OPT) provided a useful starting point for this article.
(written by a previous member of the Bird Stamp Society)
This article considers the complete artwork on stamps that we have seen from Nadia Charles, illustrator, artist and draughtswoman. Nadia Charles has done all of her philatelic artwork for the TAAF postal authority, which is based on the Isle of Réunion, which is also where Nadia Charles has her home. Since 1946, Réunion has enjoyed the status as a Department of the French State and is located in the Indian Ocean, East of Madagascar and South West of Mauritius.
Nadia Charles has carried out numerous works on the flora and fauna of the Isle of Réunion, including both land based and aquatic fauna. She has also done multiple works of art based on daily life (portraits and scenery) of the different wildlife communities that can be seen in the various natural parks that can be found on Réunion, such artwork being commissioned by the various research and related bodies that are based on the island
The Bearded Vulture is essentially a scavenger which feeds on the remains of dead mammals, birds and reptiles. Their preference is for bone marrow (and to get at this, they are adept at smashing bones from height, by dropping the larger ones on rocks); but during the mating season, they mainly feed on carrion. The Bearded Vulture is one of the most endangered species in Europe.
Within Europe, the Bearded Vulture can be found in limited numbers in the mountainous areas of Spain and France (Pyrennes), the Alpine regions of Italy, Switzerland and Austria; and in the Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Romania and Bulgaria); and in Greece. Just beyond Europe, it is also native in Turkey and Armenia.
When you think of Belgian bird stamps, obviously you turn to the long running series of definitives created by André Buzin. But the Buzin issues and Bpost are not the only Belgian source of bird images on stamps. This blog focuses on the bird issues of TBC-Post, of which there are a few to admire and collect.
Who are TBC-Post?
TBC-Post is a private sector postal operator based in Zaventem in Flanders, located just outside and to the North East of the Brussels city region. TBC-Post has been in existence for some 35 years and operates business postal services. TBC-Post also provides postal services to individuals through its appointed retail agents (who sell the TBC-Post stamps as well as act as collecting points for mail).
The TBC-Post Bird Stamp Designs
One of the designs from the TBC-Post catalogue features the African Penguin (Sheniscus demersus), endangered native resident of southern Africa, found along the coastal areas of South Africa (in particular), as well as on the coasts of both Namibia and (less so) Mozambique.
On 14 August 2022, Thailand Post issued its first ever Crypto Stamp, to celebrate the 14th Anniversary of Thailand Post. The publicity for Thailand Post indicates that Thailand is the first of the 10 countries which make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to issue such a stamp.
The Crypto Stamp and what you can do with it. In theory, the first thing that you can do with this stamp, which bears an image of a pigeon, is to use it for normal postal purposes. The stamp (on the left in the image) is self-adhesive.
