Latvijas Pasts has released two new stamps, supplementing the Latvian Birds series. One of the stamps depicts the common redshank, recognised as Latvia’s Bird of the Year 2018, and the other stamp features the long-tailed tit, which is one of the smallest birds found in this country. The first day cancellation of the stamps is scheduled to take place in Riga post office No. 50 located in the shopping centre Origo, 2 Stacijas laukums, Riga from 8 AM to 7 PM on Friday, the 8th of June 2018.
The print run of the stamp featuring the common redshank is 500,000 copies, and its face value is € 0.50, which corresponds to the cost of sending a regular Class B letter within Latvia. In turn, the print run of the stamp dedicated to the long-tailed tit is 100,000 copies, and its face value is €1.41, making it suitable for sending a registered item in wrapper or a registered Class B letter within Latvia. The release of the stamps is accompanied by the issue of two covers featuring both birds, with a print run of 1,000 copies each. The stamps and the covers have been designed by the artist Ģirts Grīva.
The common redshank (Tringa totanus) named as Latvia’s Bird of the Year 2018 by the Latvian Ornithological Society is a quite common bird nesting in wet grasslands near rivers, ponds, lakes or seaside. However, in recent years, the common redshank has become an endangered bird species in the European Union – the greatest threat to the species is created by the intensification of agriculture and drainage of wetlands.
The long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus) is a small, delicately built bird with a characteristic black and white plumage and a very long tail – one of the smallest birds living in Latvia. The long-tailed tit is found in damp deciduous and mixed forests, often in young or middle-aged alder and birch groves, as well as shrubby parks and gardens.
Latvijas Pasts has issued the Birds series of stamps since 2010, releasing two new stamps per year. In 2017 Latvijas Pasts released the stamps depicting the western yellow wagtail and the little crake.
