San-Cap Nature Calendar on sale

By THE SANIBEL-CAPTIVA NATURE CALENDAR - | Apr 29, 2024

THE SANIBEL-CAPTIVA NATURE CALENDAR Publisher Jim Fowler with The Sanibel-Captiva Nature Calendar for 2025.

The 37th edition of The Sanibel-Captiva Nature Calendar is available for purchase, as well as the spiral-bound Blind Pass Tide edition that includes daily tide predictions for multiple spots and more.

Publisher Jim Fowler explained that in addition to the same beautiful photographs and narratives, the limited edition contains the daily tide predictions for Blind Pass and conversion times for 24 other points along the Southwest Florida coast. It also includes selected sunrise and sunset times, moonrise and moonset times, and the four eclipses that will occur in 2025.

This year’s calendar includes 14 photos of some of Sanibel’s most iconic birds, animals and marine life, including three post-Hurricane Ian photos. Each monthly photo is accompanied by a narrative discussing the current status of the subject, effects of the storm and future prospects. The front cover features a trio of roseate spoonbills photographed by Theresa Baldwin at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

“Referred to as ‘Sanibel’s bird,’ roseate spoonbills are often found foraging in ‘Ding’ Darling at sunrise and sunset,” Fowler said in a prepared statement. “Historically, it was a tradition during the winter season to gather on Wildlife Drive after dinner and wait for the return of ‘Sanibel’s Bird.'”

The post-Ian photos presented are a bobcat at Pond Apple Park, an Atlantic giant cockle on the beach and an American alligator at Pond Apple Park. All of the images show birds and other animals in different states of their lives on the wounded but recovering barrier islands.

THE SANIBEL-CAPTIVA NATURE CALENDAR The back cover of The Sanibel-Captiva Nature Calendar for 2025.

This year’s featured photographers include Audrey Albrecht, Shane Antalick, Baldwin, Marianne Bargiotti, Cliff Beittel, Don Thompson and Cole Tillman. Writers Betty Anholt and Charles LeBuff, as well as Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation shorebird biologist Albrecht and Florida Gulf Coast University graduate researcher Tillman, wrote the monthly photo narratives.

“Created from an idea that took seed during my island experiences since I first came to Sanibel in the early seventies, I have tried every year to put together a calendar that truly shows the natural beauty of the islands,” Fowler said. “It continues to be my goal each year to publish a calendar that not only is beautiful and useful, but also promotes wildlife conservation through interest, information and education.”

First published in 1988, the calendar is sold only in Southwest Florida. Each photo includes subject information such as: description, nesting, breeding and feeding habits, range, habitat, status and health.

Every fall a portion of the publisher’s proceeds are donated to a regional conservation organization. Last year, a donation of $500 was made to Turtle Time on Fort Myers Beach. To date, the publisher has donated about $28,189 to conservation organizations in Southwest Florida.

Again this year, the calendar will be available, upon request, with a shipping envelope made from trash. Make-ready sheets were saved from the press setup and used to create custom-fit mailing envelopes.

SHANE ANTALICK Red knots.

“It is the best calendar in the world, and probably the best calendar that ever was,” Fowler said. “It is the only calendar that truly represents what Sanibel and Captiva are all about — nature.”

The 2025 calendar retails for $16.95 and is available in fine book stores and gift shops throughout Southwest Florida. Only available on Sanibel, the Blind Pass Tide edition retails for $19.95.

For mail orders, send $16.95 plus $2 for shipping and handling to: Sanibel-Captiva Nature Calendar, P.O. Box 3828, Midway, KY 40347. For the limited edition, send $19.95 along with the $3 for S&H.

For more information, contact Fowler at 859-846-4164.