New stamp will celebrate endangered Bailiwick bird

Guernsey Post have annouced plans to issue a new stamp celebrating an endangered Bailiwick bird.

The Meadow Pipit, now classified as endangered in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, will feature on stamps as part of a collaboration with the WWF.

Islanders may notice the new stamp on the front of their letters and parcels from the 15th February 2017.

An attractive creature, the Meadow Pipit is a small, streaky, yellow-brown bird with pale legs, a long hind claw and white outer tail feather.

It's high, piping call – a common upland sound – gives it its common name.

But research shows there may be less than 100 breeding pairs of the attractive Meadow Pipit left in Guernsey and Herm, with neighbouring Alderney experiencing a similar decline.

In the UK, numbers have been declining since the mid-1970s, resulting in the species being placed on the amber list of conservation concern.

Agricultural intensification is thought to be responsible for declining numbers. There are less grazing areas and fewer places for the birds to live and eat in winter.

The four stamps, souvenir sheet and sheets of eight are available to pre-order from Guernsey Post.