Exotica... Upon hearing the word some immediately think of Amazon jungles, others see endless Sahara sands, and yet others imagine climbing in Nepal and Tibet. For many foreigners Belarus is an unknown land. And yet there is no need to go to the arctic shores or to Siberia in order to see thousands of birds, deer, or wild boars. You can see them all here, in Belarus. All that is needed is knowledge of places and enough patience to take good photographs.
Byelarus is home to an impressive number of species of birds that vary from residents, that stay all year around, to breeding birds, that spend a good part of the growing season in Belarus to raise their young, migrants who pass through Belarus with the seasons, to wintering birds who like to spend a good part of the winter in Belarus to escape colder conditions up north. While many species of birds are relatively common as they are part of the ecosystems of the state, it is always a thrill to stumble upon a rare bird or vagrant, that does not really form part of any the Belarus ecosystems. Maybe it got lost during its travels between its summer and winter residence or it got displaced by bad weather.
Among the species of the birds of Byelarus you can find waterfowl and wading birds, a large suite of song birds, raptors, game birds, swifts and nighthawks, etc., many of which occupy several ecosystems simultaneously, as they fly to and from forests, meadows, shorelines of waters, cities and and urban green spaces. Maria sent these two lovely maxicards. Both the stamps issued were in commemoration of Bird of the Year. In 2010 it was the Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). In 2011 this unique honour went to the Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata).