Southern Florida Wetland Wood Storks Postage Stamps | Nature of America Series | Florida Everglades Birds | Birth Announcements | Vintage Unused USPS Postage 39c

This vintage Wood Storks stamp is especially charming for birth announcements, bringing the grace of South Florida’s wetlands to new baby mail, letters, wedding invitations, and special correspondence. Issued in 2006 as part of the USPS Nature of America series, this stamp features wood storks within John D. Dawson’s richly detailed portrait of a southern Florida wetland community. Their crisp white plumage, dark wing feathers, and elegant wading-bird silhouettes make this stamp a meaningful choice for welcoming a new baby, while also fitting beautifully with Florida weddings, destination celebrations, bird lovers, and outdoor events.

In pristine mint condition and valid for current postage use, each stamp holds a face value of 39-cents. These authentic USPS postage stamps are suitable for current mailing when used with the total required postage based on the weight of your mailing.

STAMP INFORMATION:

• Stamp Name: Southern Florida Wetland – Wood Storks
• Stamp Series: Nature of America / Southern Florida Wetland
• Year Issued: 2006
• Face Value: 39-cents (USD) per stamp
• Topic(s): Wood Stork, Wood Storks, Mycteria americana, Birth Announcements, New Baby, Storks, Southern Florida Wetland, Nature of America, Florida Everglades, Wading Birds, Florida Birds, Wetland Birds, Native Wildlife, Marshes, Mangroves, Ecosystems, Conservation, John D. Dawson, Ethel Kessler
• Color(s): White, Black, Green, Blue, Brown, Multicolored
• Mailing Occasions: Birth Announcements, New Baby Announcements, Baby Showers, Wedding Invitations, Save the Dates, Florida Weddings, Destination Weddings, Outdoor Weddings, Nature Weddings, Bird Weddings, Everglades Weddings, Bridal Showers, Thank You Cards, Letters, Special Correspondence
• Printing Method: Photogravure
• Scott Number: 4099b
• Adhesion Type: Self-Adhesive
• Stamp Size: 40 × 31 mm / 1.57 × 1.22 in
• Condition: Genuine Unused USPS Postage Stamps, Ready to Use for USPS Mailings, Mint Condition

STAMP DESCRIPTION & HISTORY: The 2006 Southern Florida Wetland – Wood Storks stamp was issued on October 4, 2006, at the Naples Zoo and Caribbean Gardens in Naples, Florida, as one of ten 39-cent designs in the USPS Nature of America Southern Florida Wetland pane. Ethel Kessler designed the issue, and artist John D. Dawson created the detailed ecosystem illustration. This stamp features wood storks within a wetland community where freshwater and coastal habitats overlap. Avery Dennison produced the self-adhesive stamps using photogravure.

BIRD DESCRIPTION: The wood stork (Mycteria americana) is a large wading bird recognized by its mostly white plumage, contrasting black flight feathers, long legs, and distinctive dark, featherless head. Its heavy, slightly curved bill is specialized for feeding in shallow water. Rather than visually targeting individual prey, wood storks often forage by sweeping an open bill through the water and snapping it shut when they encounter fish or other aquatic animals.

WOOD STORKS IN FLORIDA: Florida is one of the most important areas in the United States for wood storks. They inhabit freshwater and brackish wetlands, marshes, swamps, ponds, mangroves, and shallow seasonal wetlands where prey becomes concentrated as water levels fall. South Florida’s extensive wetland systems have historically provided essential feeding and nesting habitat.

WOOD STORKS & THE EVERGLADES: Wood storks are closely tied to the natural water cycles of the Everglades. Their breeding success depends on predictable seasonal changes that concentrate fish into shallow areas where adults can gather enough food for growing chicks. Because of this dependence on hydrology, wood storks are often associated with the broader ecological health and restoration of South Florida’s wetlands.

WOOD STORKS FOR BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS & WEDDINGS: The longstanding association between storks and new babies makes this stamp especially fitting for birth announcements, baby showers, and correspondence celebrating a growing family. Its white plumage, black accents, and lush wetland greens also create a sophisticated natural palette that works beautifully with ivory, white, sage, forest green, black, blue, and neutral stationery. For brides planning Florida, Everglades, outdoor, resort, or destination weddings, the wood storks offer an elegant alternative to traditional floral postage.

STORKS & NEW BABY TRADITIONS: Storks have long been associated in European and American folklore with childbirth and the arrival of new babies. The familiar story of a stork delivering an infant became especially popular in 19th- and 20th-century illustration, children’s books, greeting cards, and nursery art. That cultural connection gives this Wood Stork stamp an especially fitting meaning for birth announcements and new baby mail while retaining an authentic connection to a real North American bird.

WOOD STORK CONSERVATION: Wood stork populations in the United States declined significantly during the 20th century as wetlands were altered and natural water patterns changed. Conservation measures and wetland restoration have helped improve conditions in portions of their range. Protecting shallow feeding wetlands, nesting colonies, and the seasonal water cycles that concentrate prey remains essential to their long-term success.

SOUTHERN FLORIDA WETLANDS: Southern Florida’s wetlands include sawgrass marshes, sloughs, mangrove forests, wet prairies, estuaries, and coastal environments shaped by alternating wet and dry seasons. These interconnected habitats support an exceptional diversity of plants and animals. Dawson’s artwork places numerous native species within one ecological landscape, emphasizing how wildlife, vegetation, and water depend upon one another.

STAMP MEANING & SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE: The Wood Storks design symbolizes new beginnings, family, renewal, grace, patience, adaptability, and partnership. Their cultural association with babies and parenthood gives this stamp a particularly joyful meaning for birth announcements, while their calm presence in the wetlands evokes steadiness and thoughtful movement. For new baby mail, weddings, and meaningful correspondence, this stamp expresses the happiness of welcoming a new chapter in life.

STAMP SERIES HISTORY: USPS introduced the Nature of America series in 1999 to celebrate major American ecosystems through detailed, scientifically informed artwork. Each large pane presented a different habitat populated by representative native plants and animals. The Southern Florida Wetland issue was the eighth installment in the twelve-year series. John D. Dawson illustrated the series under the art direction of Ethel Kessler, creating immersive landscapes intended to encourage appreciation for the diversity and ecological relationships found across the United States.