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.
In May 2022, Stamperija issued for the Niger postal authority a sheetlet of four stamps which features Endangered Birds.
The sheetlet depicts the following birds: Top-left: Giant Ibis (Thaumatibis gigantea) from the family of Ibises and Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae) which has “Critically Endangered” status; Top-right: Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus) from the family of Falcons (Falconidae) which has “Endangered” status; Bottom-left: Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) from the family of New World Warblers (Parulida) which has “Endangered” status; and Bottom-right: Negros Bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba keayi) from the family of Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae) which has “Critically Endangered” status.
The two top row birds have previously appeared on stamps: the Giant Ibis, about five times; and the Mauritius Kestrel, about 10 times. The most recent issue of the Mauritius Kestrel was by Mauritius Post, as reported in a previous blog article.
Mention “the Blue Flamingo” and I immediately think of a seedy nightclub in a 1940s film noir, possibly starring Alan Ladd, William Bendix or Robert Dennehy. But perhaps that was the Blue Dahlia. So, it was rather uplifting to meet, for the first time, the real Blue Flamingo from the bird world. Though I am not sure that you would find too many of these birds in Grenada.
This is perhaps because the supply of blue shrimp is not sufficient to sustain the bird. Interestingly, both the IUCN Red List and Birds of the World are silent on the Blue Flamingo, which leads me to conclude that it is in the “Data Deficient” conservation category, that I have come across for a few birds that I have looked at in stamp issues.
The Wildlife Habitat Trust (WHT) is an organisation that dates from 1986, when members of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) got together to create an entity that has as its aim to raise and distribute funds to acquire land for shooting and conservation. Today, the WHT provides grants to help manage sites for wildlife and more recently, has been involved in providing support for local and national biodiversity plans.
The Wildlife Habitat Conservation Trust (WHCT) is the charitable organisation (registered charity 1013816) that manages the UK Habitat Conservation Stamp Programme. A major part of the UK Habitat Stamp income is used to assist habitat conservation across the UK. Working with government agencies, the income from UK Habitat Stamps has helped contribute to acquisition and management of some important wetlands, some of which are Ramsar sites.
The UK Habitat Stamps
The WHT has issued a UK Habitat Stamp annually since 1991, based on specially commissioned wildlife artwork, which generally features a waterfowl as the central image. The WHT has always priced the stamp at £5. In creating the UK Habitat Stamp, the trustees of the WHT were inspired by the success of the US Federal Duck Stamp programme, which has been raising funds for wetlands conservation since 1934, the date of the first stamp issue.
