The General Articles featured here are a little ‘lighter’ in reading than the Specialist articles, the latter providing a much more in-depth look at a specific topic such as country definitives that have some tricky collecting issues.
BUZIN WATCH ARTICLES
A quick overview of some issued Belgian Buzins.
2021 Europa Endangered National Wildlife
Vatican Birds
The Vatican City issued a two-stamp set for its 2021 Europa entry on “Endangered National Wildlife”, one of which features the Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), as illustrated left.
The background information published by the Vatican for this issue starts out by stating: “For the realization of the Europa 2021 series dedicated to endangered national wildlife, we look at the avifauna populating the Vatican Gardens, a small natural oasis consisting of roughly 30 hectares.” Read more here
Birds of Wallis & Futuna
In July 2021, the French Overseas Territory of Wallis & Futuna issued a sheet containing four birds stamps (pictured right).
The featured birds are:
- Pacific Reef Heron (Egretta sacra);
- White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus);
- Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio); and
- Weka (Gallirallus philippensis).
The local names for these birds, also disclosed on each stamp, are respectively: Amatuku; Tavake; Kalae and Veka. Read more here
COLLECTING BIRD STAMPS
A number of Bird Stamp Society members collect just stamps on a single species, or group of birds. This makes perfect sense as there are over 40,000 bird stamps generally … you need a deep pocket to collect that lot!
Featured here is an insight in to how a BSS member started to collect Parrots on stamps – “Stamp Collecting Parrot Fashion”.
Tony Statham, our Chairman gives an insight into how he started collecting. Collecting Bird Stamps – A Thematic Kaleidoscope
A member’s innovative way of displaying his collection … a collage of stamps, watercolour painting and bird notes …… take a look here
FOLKLORE and NOTES FROM YESTERYEAR
The first offering is on Wrens, Tits and Golden-crested Wrens, and is based on ‘Bird Life Glimpses’ by Edmund Selous, published in 1905. He lived in Icklingham, Suffolk from 1899 to 1902 and kept numerous notes all about the local birdlife, which culminated in his volume being printed. Read the first article – Notes From Yesteryear1
The second offering provides a nostalic look at birdwatching in Devon. These notes are taken from ‘Bird Haunts and Nature Memories’ , by A Howard, in 1922. Notes From Yesteryear2
OTHER ARTICLES
Post Office Strike of 1971
The 15 February 1971 may be remembered as the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies. What many members may not remember is that there was the first full national strike in the history of the British Post Office which took place from Wednesday 20th January to Sunday 7th March 1971. Read the full article here
Europa Birds
Zavotskoy may only be an obscure suburb of Vladivostok but the sale of the magnificent Russian stamp for Europa 2019 from its post office would allow an A-Z to demonstrate the impressive geographical scope of the 2019 Europa National Birds issue! Read the full article – From the Azores to Zavotskoy – The National Birds of Europa Spread Their Wings
Tips for Buyers and Sellers
There are no hard and fast rules for buying and selling stamps as each person will have their own set of ‘rules/guidelines’ so this paper is based on Graham Horman’s own experiences, and those of close friends from whom he have gleaned knowledge over many years. An invaluable read for any collector – read the full article here
Universal Mail Stamps
Universal Mail issues tourist and bespoke stamps for use solely on postcards to be sent worldwide. Read Steven Ardron’s article on the Universal Mail Stamps in Britain … click here
Golden Eagle – As an add-on to the above article, Steven tops it up with a short article on recently purchased Universal stamps from Scotland …… view the note here
Eggs Featured on Bird Stamps
An article written by our Chairman and extracted from Flight magazine , with an extraordinary shaped stamp from Niuafo’ou (featured left).
Read Birds’ Eggs on “Bird” Stamps
First Day of Issue Postmarks – 2010
The document here illustrates the series of First Day of Issue Postmarks used in the ‘Birds of Britain’ Post and Go Stamp Series 2010.
