Nature Postage Celebrates Animals

This page celebrates wildlife and says, "We love and protect animals". It is here that the creatures of Louisiana, both wild and domesticated, are spotlighted (in a positive way) by displaying their photo on postage stamps.

Tips on attracting wildlife and descriptions and information about the habits of each of the featured animal groups is given. You'll find everything from butterflies and hummingbirds to cats and dogs and even some reptiles and amphibians, too. Most of the photographs were taken in Southeastern Louisiana on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

Says About Stamp Collecting:

The National Postal Museum celebrates the beauty and lore of stamps, showcasing rare stamps and covers from the Museum's renowned collection. A stamp is much more than the physical evidence that postage has been paid. Stamps can be miniature works of art, treasured keepsakes, and rare collectibles.

Stamp collecting can be fun and certainly easy. Collectors can build a collection around subjects that interest them. Do you love movies or rock and roll? Stars of both can be found on stamps. Are you a sports fan? You can probably find your favorite sport on stamps as well. People who love cats or dogs, trains, planes and automobiles can find their hobbies celebrated on stamps.     more

All of the stamps here are actual USPS stamps. The photographs featured here appear on postage stamps and other print-on-demand designs. We are constantly adding new designs so visit our Zazzle Gallery to see more. We hope you enjoy your visit.

A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form. Most species are day-flying so they regularly attract attention. The diverse patterns formed by their brightly colored wings and their erratic yet graceful flight have made butterfly watching a fairly popular hobby.

Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (Superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (Superfamily Hedyloidea). Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some are known to migrate over large distances. Butterflies are important economically as one of the major agents of pollination. (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Many beautiful Butterflies inhabit the Pine-Land Savannahs and forests of Southeastern Louisiana. The abundant wildflowers attract the adult butterflies, but the larval host plants are what sustain butterflies. Adult butterflies lay eggs on certain plants and the larvae that hatch out can survive on only that kind of plant. The caterpillar eats and grows and sheds its skin many times until it finally grows large enough to form a chrysalis. The caterpillar changes while inside the chrysalis and emerges as a beautiful butterfly and soon begins the cycle again by mating and finding the right host plant on which to lay its eggs.

Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species-more than half of all known living organisms[1][2]-with estimates of undescribed species as high as 30 million, thus potentially representing over 90% of the differing life forms on the planet.[3] Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet, although only a small number of species occur in the oceans, a habitat dominated by the other arthropod group of crustaceans. (excerpt from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Insects are extremely important to the cycle of life here on earth. They are the tillers of the soil, the pollinators and they provide food for many other creatures. Numerous insects are a sign of a healthy ecosystem.

by Author Aileen Fisher

I sat as still

as a playing-dead possum

and watched a bee

on a clover blossom,

Watched him poking

his long thin tongue

into the blossoms

pink and young,

Heard him bumble

and sort of sneeze

as pollen stuck

to his two hind knees.

I held my breath

as the bee buzzed over,

and hoped I didn't

look sweet as clover.

Hummingbirds are birds of the family Trochilidae, and are native only to the Americas. They are known for their ability to hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 15-80 times per second (depending on the species). Capable of sustained hovering, the hummingbird also has the ability to fly backwards, being the only group of birds able to do so. Hummingbirds may also fly vertically or horizontally, and are capable of maintaining a position while drinking nectar or eating tiny arthropods from flower blossoms. Their English name derives from the characteristic hum made by their wings.(from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the only type of hummingbird that breeds in Southeastern Louisiana and the Eastern U.S. The males have bright red throats and emerald green backs. The females are larger than the male, have white throats and are more plain in appearance so they can blend in with their surroundings when nesting. Females take sole responsibility for nest building, brooding and feeding the young. Immature birds look like the females, except some young males will have a few red gorget feathers or a "5 o'clock shadow" on their throat. Males stake out a prime flower or feeder territory and spend the spring and summer defending it. In SE U.S., the males begin to gather around the 4th of July to prepare for their trip south, across the Gulf of Mexico, to their wintering grounds. The females and young start back a few weeks later. Each year in spring, the males arrive back in Louisiana around March 1st. The females return around March 15.

by Victor Hugo

Be like the bird, who

Halting in his flight

On limb too slight

Feels it give way beneath him,

Yet sings

Knowing that he hath wings.

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the 5 cm (2 in) Bee Hummingbird to the 2.7 m (9 ft) Ostrich. The fossil record indicates that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, around 150-200 Ma (million years ago), and the earliest known bird is the Late Jurassic Archaeopteryx, c 155-150 Ma. Most paleontologists regard birds as the only clade of dinosaurs that survived the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event approximately 65.5 Ma.

Modern birds are characterised by feathers, a beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a lightweight but strong skeleton. All birds have forelimbs modified as wings and most can fly, with some exceptions including ratites, penguins, and a number of diverse endemic island species. Birds also have unique digestive and respiratory systems that are highly adapted for flight. Some birds, especially corvids and parrots, are among the most intelligent animal species; a number of bird species have been observed manufacturing and using tools, and many social species exhibit cultural transmission of knowledge across generations. (excerpt from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Birds in Southeastern Louisiana

Many of the birds in this section nest in cavities, either natural ones in trees or man made boxes and houses. Our nest box trail hosts all but the Red-breasted Nuthatch, which is an unusual winter visitor to the South. The Brown-headed Nuthatch nests in cavities in our area. The cavity nesting birds on the stamps are: Eastern Bluebird (3), Carolina Chickadee, Prothonotary Warbler (2), Carolina Wren and Babies, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Screech Owl.

From the classical standpoint, reptiles included all the amniotes except birds and mammals. Thus reptiles were defined as the set of animals that includes crocodiles, alligators, tuatara, lizards, snakes, amphisbaenians and turtles, grouped together as the class Reptilia (Latin repere, "to creep"). This is still the usual definition of the term. However, in recent years, many taxonomists have begun to insist that taxa should be monophyletic, that is, groups should include all descendants of a particular form. (excerpt from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

However they are classified, Reptiles and Amphibians are some of the most beneficial creatures in the animal kingdom. They help humans by eating rodents, harmful insects and, in the case of the King Snake, poisonous snakes. Many have beautiful coloring and are mild mannered and docile. Reptiles and Amphibians certainly deserve higher regard than most humans give them.

by Jack Prelutsky

The turtle's always been inclined

to live within his shell.

But why he cares to be confined,

the turtle does not tell.

The turtle's always satisfied

to slowlycreep and crawl,

and never wanders far outside

his living room or hall.

So if you wish to visit him

in his domestic dome,

just knock politely on his shell,

you'll find the turtle home.

Mammals

Mammals (class Mammalia) are a class of vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including sweat glands modified for milk production, hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain.

All mammals other than the monotremes give birth to live young instead of laying eggs. Most mammals also possess specialized teeth, and the largest group of mammals, the placentals, use a placenta during gestation. The mammalian brain regulates endothermic and circulatory systems, including a four-chambered heart. (excerpt from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Wild Animals

Flying Squirrels and Raccoons are two of the wild mammals that have adapted well to coexist with humans. Flying squirrels live in several of the nest boxes on our nest box trail. They are endearing little nocturnal creatures with their bright, inquisitive eyes. They have flaps of skin under their arms that allow them to glide some distance from tree to tree.

Raccoons always seem to be doing something funny and baby raccoons are adorable to look at. They, too, are nocturnal animals, but will come out in daylight for a free meal. They have a schedule of rounds that they make each night and morning and soon learn where the best eats are. Raccoons can become too friendly by coming into houses. They are very intelligent and it doesn't take them long to figure out how things work.

by The Harddirt Galaxy

Some think of me as a bandit

It appears I wear a mask

But the way my face is colored

Helps greatly with my task.

Searching for food in the darkness

It takes great effort to see

And these two patches of blackness

Concentrate the light for me.

No glare nor shimmer assaults me

And my sight is crisp and clear

So I can see things more sharply

Especially those that are near.

I spend my days in the treetops

Or in the underbrush

Just keeping silent and resting

Avoiding the daytime rush.

I've always been small and skinny

Since the time my life began

That's why I've never been hunted

For food on the plate of man.

Frontiersmen at first ignored me

And I was happy for that

But later they all discovered

That I made a fine fur hat!

Rescued Pets

We have been rescuing pets for years and urge anyone who wants to share their life with an animal, to go to your local animal shelter. We think rescued pets make the best pets. They seem to know that you saved them and are grateful. All of the cats and dogs featured in these stamps were rescued by us.

by William Wordsworth

See the kitten on the wall,

Sporting with the leaves that fall,

Withered leaves, one, two and three

Falling from the elder tree,

Through the calm and frosty air

Of the morning bright and fair.

See the kitten, how she starts,

Crouches, stretches, paws and darts;

With a tiger-leap halfway

Now she meets her coming prey.

Lets it go as fast and then

Has it in her power again.

Now she works with three and four,

Like an Indian conjurer;

Quick as he in feats of art,

Gracefully she plays her part;

Yet were gazing thousands there;

What would little Tabby care?