The
Stamp
The stamp comes from 6 designs Nature
Issue.
Isle of Man Post Office is pleased
to present a set of six stamps illustrating the nature that can be seen
if you take a walk in the Ballaugh Curragh. Ballaugh Curragh is a true
place of wonder and fascination and this new stamp issue reflects this
and depicts an Orange tip, a curlew, Birch Bracket Fungus, large Red Damsel,
Marsh Cinquefoil and Royal Fern. Ballaugh Curragh encompasses the last
remnants of an ancient lake that formed in the lowland between the Bride
Hills and the Manx upland.
The word 'Curragh' is a Gaelic word
meaning marsh or wetland. There is a comprehensive network of boarded walks
threading their way through Ballaugh Curragh. A number of the official
paths are directed along the tops of what is left of the ancient hedges
that divided the old meadow system, created in the middle to the late part
of the 1800s. It is here that the Royal Fern, Rhenniagh reeoil, can be
found in abundance.
Meanwhile the meadows that flood
in winter are home to the Willow species Shellagh, but the old meadow hedges
attract certain tree species that aren’t able to grow where the ground
floods. The Killane trench winds its way through the centre of the Curragh
beside the old road and this is the main hawking ground for the Large Red
Damsel Snaid-veg yiarg liauyr. For the most part, the trench runs north/south
and gets the best sun of the day. Winter maintenance provides clearings
with many vantage points for damselflies, dragonflies Snaid mooarey and
the numerous butterfly species. Ditches run beside every path and hedge
in the Curragh; these have become clogged up over the years, but they provide
a great place for the plants that like their roots in the water. Meanwhile
it is fortunate that there are still some open meadows in existence supplying
the evocative Curlew Crottag with nesting opportunities for its four sharply
pointed, dark brown, very well camouflaged speckled eggs.
Dot Tilbury, Philatelic Bureau Manager
of the Isle of Man Post Office said:
"I felt it would be wonderful to
do a nature issue and who better to get involved with such a topic on the
Island but John "Dog" Callister. We decided to concentrate on Ballaugh
Curragh as John "Dog" is so knowledgeable about this area and it really
is a place of amazing beauty."
Renowned wildlife artist Richard
Lewington was specially commissioned to produce the stunning artwork for
the stamps
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